Identifying the monosaccharide transport protein in the human erythrocyte membrane

A proton NMR study of the mechanism of the erythrocyte glucose transporter

A generalizable 1H NMR technique is developed and used to monitor beta-D-glucose binding to glucose transport sites on erythrocyte membranes. This technique provides resolution of beta-D-glucose binding sites on opposite sides of the membrane, thereby enabling study of recruitment of transport sites from one side of the membrane to the other. Cytochalasin B, which competitively and specifically inhibits glucose binding to the inward-facing glucose transport site, recruits all glucose transport sites on both sides of the membrane to the inward-facing conformation. This result strongly supports a one-site model in which a single transport site alternates between distinct inward- and outward-facing conformations. The rate-limiting step in the transport process is translocation of the transport site between the two conformations, since the beta-D-glucose binding and dissociation events at both the inward- and outward-facing transport sites are shown to be fast compared to the known turnover rate of the glucose transport cycle. A model is presented for the transport machinery in which the glucose molecule binds in a cleft between channel-forming transmembrane helices, and during the transport event a sliding barrier moves past the transport site, thereby exposing the site to the opposite solution compartment.

The topology of the major band 4.5 protein component of the human erythrocyte membrane: characterization of reactive cysteine residues

A preparation of band 4.5 protein of the red cell membrane, containing largely the sugar transporter, was labelled with the sulfhydryl reagent N-ethyl [14C]maleimide. In preparations denatured with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), all five sulfhydryl groups present in the peptide, Mr 45 000 to 60 000, react with the alkylating agent within 20 min at 37 degrees C. If the peptide is reconstituted in lipid vesicles and cleaved with trypsin before extraction and denaturation with SDS, three sulfhydryl groups are found in a 30 kDa fragment and two in a 19 kDa fragment. In 'native' reconstituted protein only three groups react, even after two hours of exposure, two in the 30 kDa fragment and one in the 19 kDa fragment. Thus, one sulfhydryl group is cryptic, inaccessible to N-ethylmaleimide in each fragment. In intact cells, the single reactive group of the 19 kDa fragment can be protected against reaction with N-ethylmaleimide by the impermeant sulfhydryl reagent, p-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (PCMBS). It is, therefore, considered to be exposed on the outer face of the membrane. The two reactive groups of the 30 kDa fragment are not protected by PCMBS and are, therefore, not considered to be exposed to the outside medium. Cytochalasin B, a competitive inhibitor of sugar transport affords temporary protection of the exofacial group of the 19 kDa against reaction with N-ethylmaleimide, and affords longer term protection of one of the reactive groups of the 30 kDa fragment. These findings allow conclusions about the topology of the sugar transport protein in the bilayer. Both proteolytic fragments must cross the bilayer. One of three reactive sulfhydryl groups is exofacial and two may be cytoplasmic. The two cryptic groups may be located within the bilayer.

Reconstitution of the glucose transport activity of rat adipocytes

Rat epididymal fat cell membrane proteins were extracted from adipocyte ghosts with octylglucoside and incorporated by detergent dialysis into unilamellar phosphatidylcholine vesicles approx. 200 nm in diameter. The rate of glucose transport into the vesicles under zero-trans conditions was substrate dependent, saturable and inhibited by phloretin and cytochalasin B. Their maximum specific transport activity was 35.6 mumol/min per mg protein, and their half saturation constant for glucose was 15 mM. Glucose transport into the reconstituted vesicles was inhibited by only those sugars which competitively inhibited glucose transport into intact adipocytes. A major protein component of the vesicles was a 100 kDa protein which we had previously found to react with the affinity label maltosyl isothiocyanate (Malchoff, D.M., Olansky, L., Pohl, S. and Langdon, R.G. (1981) Fed. Proc. 40, 1893). Removal of adipocyte ghost membrane extrinsic proteins with dimethylmaleic anhydride followed by extraction of the resulting membrane pellet with octylglucoside yielded a solution which contained two major proteins, of Mr 100 000 and 85 000, with very small quantities of lower Mr proteins. Vesicles into which these proteins were incorporated had average specific transport activities of 624 mumol/min per mg protein and half saturation constants of 22 mM. Our results strongly indicate that the native glucose transporter of the rat adipocyte, like that of the human erythrocyte (Shelton, R.L. and Langdon, R.G. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 733, 25-33), is a 100 kDa protein.

Characterization of a photosensitive glucose derivative. A photoaffinity reagent for the erythrocyte hexose transporter

The photosensitive reagent 6-N-(4-azido-2-hydroxy-3,5-diiodobenzoyl)-D-glucosamine has been assessed as a potential photoaffinity label for the hexose transporter. Under zero-trans conditions, transport experiments performed in the dark reveal that the reagent inhibits the uptake of D-glucose in resealed human erythrocyte ghosts. Increasing the concentration of glucose in the transport medium has a protective effect, reducing the inhibition. Kinetic analysis indicates that the probe acts as a competitive inhibitor with high affinity for the erythrocyte hexose transporter (Ki between 0.07 and 0.2 microM). Exposure to a 280 nm filtered high intensity mercury-vapor lamp results in a rapid and efficient photolysis. At low concentrations of the probe, specific labeling of membrane preparations was observed. Autoradiograms of 10% SDS gels revealed the specific labeling of bands 4.51 and 6. This labeling was concentration-dependent and protected by D-glucose (not the L-isomer) and phloretin in the medium. When subjected to multiple exposures of low concentration of the photoaffinity reagent, apparent saturation was achieved.

Promoting effect of concanavalin A on transport of sodium cefoxitin and phenol red from rat rectal compartment

Concanavalin A enhanced the rat rectal absorption of phenol red and cefoxitin at pH 7.4 and the uptake of cefoxitin into brush border membrane vesicles prepared from rat rectal membrane. The enhancing action of concanavalin A demonstrated a sodium ion dependency and was inhibited by the presence of 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonate stilbene and phlorizin. This inhibition suggests the involvement of the membrane protein fraction.

Specific cell-surface labeling of polyglycosyl chains in human erythrocytes and HL-60 cells using endo-beta-galactosidase and galactosyltransferase

In order to identify the molecule components carrying polyglycosyl chains on cell surfaces a two-step enzymatic method was developed. In the first step, the cells were incubated with endo-beta-galactosidase to selectively expose terminal N-acetylglucosamine residues of the lactosamine backbone to the chains. In the second step these residues were glycosylated by incubation with galactosyltransferase and radioactive UDP-galactose. As many as 2.5-3.0 X 10(6) residues per cell could be transferred to human erythrocytes. Negligible amounts of labeling occurred if either of the enzymes was omitted from the incubations. Of the label 80% was found in glycoproteins. In accordance with previous observations, bands 3 and 4.5 were found to be the main carriers of polyglycosyl chains. In human promyelotic HL-60 leukemia cells, a major band of apparent molecular weight of 110000-140000 was labeled. In addition, bands of lower molecular weight which appear to have escaped detection by previous methods were also labeled. The novel labeling method was found to be simple to perform, uses commercially available reagents, and leads to the efficient and highly specific labeling of cell surface molecules carrying polyglycosyl chains.

Reconstitution of glucose transport using human erythrocyte band 3

Band 3 and the diffuse component of zone 4.5, designated band 4.5.B, have been separately prepared from human erythrocyte membranes and incorporated into the membranes of 150 nm 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine vesicles. The rates of glucose influx into these vesicles were measured under zero-trans conditions. Both sets of vesicles exhibited substrate-saturable transport which was inhibited by phloretin. However, the specific activity of the band 3 vesicles, 292 mumol X min-1 X (mg protein)-1, was more than twice that of the band 4.5.B vesicles, and the turnover number of transporters in the band 3 vesicles was at least 4-fold greater than those in the 4.5.B vesicles. Very little background density was visible in the band 4.5 region of erythrocyte membranes protected from degradation. In unprotected membranes, band 4.5.B was abundantly present, could be purified, and had glucose transport activity. Previously we have shown (Biochemistry 19, 1205 (1980] that maltosyl isothiocyanate, an affinity label for the glucose transporter, labelled a single 100 000 Mr protein of the intact erythrocyte membrane. Based upon the results of both affinity labelling and reconstitution we suggest that the native glucose transporter is a component of band 3, and that band 4.5.B contains a partially active fragment of the native transporter.

The reconstitution of the human erythrocyte sugar transporter in planar bilayer membranes

The degradation of human erythrocyte membrane proteins in relation to the identification of the monosaccharide transporter has been investigated in whole membrane preparations and membrane protein extracts by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium n-dodecyl sulphate and iodine-125 labelling. Evidence is presented for the degradation of band 3 polypeptide to lower molecular weight material some of which appears in region 4.5 of the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profile. It is found that the degradation process is inhibited by phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride and is only significant in membrane extracts in the absence of detergent (Triton X-100) and on prolonged incubation at 37 degrees C, conditions which do not prevail during the isolation of membrane protein extracts for reconstitution studies. Extracts of band 3 and band 4.5 have been prepared and reconstituted in bilayer lipid membranes. The permeabilities of the reconstituted systems to D-glucose have been investigated and it is found that only bilayers incorporating band 4.5 exhibited enhanced monosaccharide transport. A linear relationship between D-glucose transport and the concentration of protein in the aqueous phase bathing the bilayers suggests a partitioning of the protein into the bilayer. Reconstitution is stereospecific and inhibited by cytochalasin B.

Degradation of band-3 glycoprotein in vitro by a protease isolated from human erythrocyte membrane

The use of soybean-trypsin-inhibitor-Sepharose-4B to purify a protease present in human erythrocyte membranes is described. The fraction bound in the presence of calcium to the affinity absorbent is active on band-3 glycoprotein in a non-ionic detergent solution at neutral pH. Band-3 glycoprotein is degraded into components having the mobilities of the proteins of bands 4.5, 7 and of lower molecular weights. When calcium is omitted from the membrane extract, an inactive form of this enzyme can be purified. By DEAE-cellulose chromatography this inactive form can be converted into the active form, presumably by dissociation of an enzyme-inhibitor complex.

Growth of human malaria parasites in biotinylated erythrocytes

The adaptation of the biotin-avidin system for the analysis of membrane pathobiology in Plasmodium falciparum malaria is described. Biotin was linked covalently via the succinimide ester derivative (biotinyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester, BNHS) to intact human erythrocytes, prior to inoculation and in vitro cultivation of falciparum parasites. Growth experiments indicated that incubation concentrations of less than 1.0 mg BNHS/1.0 ml erythrocyte packed cell volume could yield biotinylated erythrocytes capable of sustaining parasite growth at levels comparable to control cultures. Using a synthesized [14C]BNHS compound at optimal incubation concentration, it was determined that 1.32 X 10(-4) mmol [14C]BNHS were bound per 1.0 mg of erythrocyte stromal protein. In addition, analysis of [14C]biotinylated red blood cell ghost preparations by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated that band 3 (a heterogeneous glycoprotein) was the principal site of membrane labeling. Approximately 77% of total membrane-associated [14C]BNHS was localized to this polypeptide. The unique properties of the specific, ligand-protein interaction of the biotin-avidin complex suggest that the biotinylation procedure described in this report will provide a useful analytical tool in host cell-plasmodial parasite, membrane studies.

The stereospecific D-glucose transport activity of cholate extracts from human erythrocyte membranes

The glucose transport protein of human erythrocyte membranes was solubilized with cholate to facilitate rapid reconstitution and direct glucose transport measurements. This may simplify the isolation of the native glucose transporter. In most experiments the membranes were prepared from fresh blood within 8 h, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70 degrees C to minimize proteolytic degradation. Solubilization with 25 mM cholate in the presence of 200 mM NaCl at pH 8.4 for 12 min at room temperature gave a high D-glucose transport activity. The solubilized mixture contained 20% of the total membrane protein, only 6% of the polypeptides of molecular weight around 90000, 23% of the polypeptides of molecular weight around 55000, 30% of the phospholipids and at least 6% of the stereospecific D-glucose transport activity. At cholate concentrations up to 22 mM the ratio of solubilized phospholipids to cholate increased steeply, concomitant with an increase in solubilized activity. Above 30 mM cholate the activity diminished. At 4 degrees C the activity of the extract decreased rapidly within the first day and slowly during the next few days. The initial changes seem to have produced a fairly stable, but not native form or fragment of the transporter. When 20 mM EDTA and 5 mM dithioerythritol were included in the solubilization mixture a high activity was preserved for about one day.