Properties of dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase in the harderian gland

Features of influenza HA required for apical sorting differ from those required for association with DRMs or MAL

The influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) is sorted to the apical membrane in polarized epithelial cells and associates with detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs). By systematic mutagenesis of the transmembrane residues, we show that hemagglutinin requires 10 contiguous transmembrane amino acids to enter detergent-resistant membranes and that the surface of the trimeric hemagglutinin transmembrane domain facing the lipid environment as well as that facing the interior of the trimer is important for stable association with detergent-resistant membranes. However, association with detergent-resistant membranes was not required for apical sorting. MAL/VIP17 is a protein that is required for apical transport and a small fraction of hemagglutinin co-precipitates with MAL. Mutations that prevented HA from being isolated in detergent-resistant membranes decreased co-precipitation with MAL. The hemagglutinin and MAL that co-precipitated were contained in a detergent-resistant vesicle. However, most of the co-precipitation of newly synthesized hemagglutinin with MAL occurred only after the majority of hemagglutinin reached the cell surface. Both the timing and the limited extent of co-precipitation suggest that the majority of vesicles containing hemagglutinin and MAL are not the detergent-resistant membrane transport intermediates carrying hemagglutinin from the TGN to the apical surface.

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase

In this article the properties, assay, distribution, subcellular localization, deficiency in congenital peroxisomal disorders, purification and physiological functions of dihydroxyacetone phosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.42) are reviewed.

2-methylacyl racemase: a coupled assay based on the use of pristanoyl-CoA oxidase/peroxidase and reinvestigation of its subcellular distribution in rat and human liver

Because of the 2S-methyl-stereospecificity of the acyl-CoA oxidases acting on the CoA esters of 2-methyl-branched fatty carboxylates such as pristanic acid and the side chain of trihydroxycoprostanic acid (Van Veldhoven P.P., Croes K., Asselberghs S., Herdewijn P. and Mannaerts G.P. (1996) FEBS Lett. 388, 80-84), naturally occurring 2R-pristanic acid and 25R- (corresponding to 2R in the side chain) trihydroxycoprostanic acid, after activation to their CoA-esters, need to be racemized to the S-isomers before they can be degraded by peroxisomal beta-oxidation. A coupled assay to measure 2-methyl-acyl racemases was developed by using purified rat pristanoyl-CoA oxidase. Upon incubation of rat and human liver homogenates with 2R-methyl-pentadecanoyl-CoA, the formed 2S-methyl isomer was desaturated by an excess of added oxidase and the concomitant production of hydrogen peroxide was monitored by means of peroxidase in the presence of a suitable hydrogen donor. Application of this assay to subcellular fractions of rat liver revealed the presence of racemase activity not only in mitochondria, as described by Schmitz W., Albers C., Fingerhut R. and Conzelmann E. (Eur. J. Biochem. (1995) 231, 815-822), but also in peroxisomes and cytosol. A similar distribution was seen in human liver. In rat the highest activities were found in liver, followed by Harderian gland, kidney and intestinal mucosa.

Localization of enzymes involved in glycero-ether bond formation in rat liver

Studies on the localization of alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase in rat liver are described. Less than 5% of the total activity was found in the cytosolic fraction, suggesting that the enzyme is membrane-bound. The ratio of the enzymatic (specific) activity over that of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase, a peroxisomal enzyme, is 10-fold higher in the microsomal fraction, when compared to the peroxisomal fraction. Studying the distribution of the enzyme in a linear density gradient, two activity peaks were found in the peroxisomal and the microsomal fraction indicating a bimodal localization of alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase. Rabert et al. (Rabert, U., Völkl, A. and Debuch, H. (1986) Biol. Chem. Hoppe-Seyler 367, 215-222) have presented evidence that the activity in the microsomal fraction was mainly caused by a different enzyme that preferentially converted acyldihydroxyacetone to alkyldihydroxyacetone. We also found a radioactive product, different from alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate, upon incubation of microsomal protein in the presence of [14C]hexadecanol. However, it was shown that this product was formed independently of the presence of acyldihydroxyacetone. The product yielded [14C]hexadecanol upon alkaline hydrolysis, clearly showing that it did not contain an ether-bond. Upon incubation of microsomal protein with [14C]palmitic acid and hexadecanol the product was also observed and its chromatographic behaviour resembled that of a synthetically prepared palmitoyl ester of hexadecanol. From these data it was concluded that the product formed is most likely a wax and that the enzyme responsible for this conversion is clearly different from the alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase. The implication is that acyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate cannot be replaced by acyldihydroxyacetone in the process of glycero-ether bond formation.

Topography of ether phospholipid biosynthesis

The enzyme, dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase (DHAP-AT) is localized at the inner surface of the peroxisomal membrane but shows no latency. The product, i.e., acyl-DHAP, is the first lipidic intermediate in ether lipid biosynthesis that is converted by alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase into alkyl-DHAP. This step and the reductions of acyl-DHAP and alkyl-DHAP to the glycerol 3-phosphate analogs can still take place in peroxisomes. The further conversions of these intermediates into ether-linked choline or ethanolamine glycerophospholipids or plasmalogens take place in the endoplasmic reticulum. In this paper we describe studies to localize acyl-DHAP in the transversal plane of the peroxisomal membrane. To enable these studies, the usually employed assay conditions for DHAP-AT were modified by omission of BSA and by lowering the temperature and the palmitoyl-CoA concentration. Using these modified conditions, we were able to label peroxisomes with endogenously generated acyl-DHAP, with retention of catalase within the peroxisomal membrane. Endogenously generated acyl-DHAP was rapidly extractable from the outer surface of peroxisomes with BSA at 0 degree C, suggesting that even at this temperature the product was transported very fast across the membrane. Trypsin treatment of peroxisomes did not affect this behaviour. Only after short incubation periods, an increase in the proportion of non-extractable acyl-DHAP was observed. In large unilamellar vesicles made from peroxisomal phospholipids no transmembrane movement of acyl-DHAP was found. Despite the apparently rapid transbilayer movement of acyl-DHAP in the presence of BSA, it could still serve as a substrate for the enzyme alkyl-DHAP synthase, which is also localized at the inner surface of the peroxisomal membrane. In addition it was shown that endogenously generated substrate is used at a higher efficiency compared to exogenously added acyl-DHAP, suggesting a close interaction of the two enzymes in the peroxisomal membrane.

Rat liver dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase: enzyme characteristics and localization studies

Peroxisomes were isolated from rat liver by pelleting a light mitochondrial (L) fraction over a 30% (w/v) Metrizamide layer. Peroxisomes were recovered as a loose pellet from the bottom of the tube and the purity of the peroxisomal fraction was calculated to be about 90%. The characteristics of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase (DHAP-AT) in the light mitochondrial fraction and the purified peroxisomal fraction were compared. The behaviour of the enzyme in the two fractions was very similar, except for the effect of sodium fluoride, which stimulated the activity in the L fraction 5-10-fold and in the peroxisomal fraction only 1.6-fold. This difference could be explained by the action of fluoride-sensitive acid phosphatases present in the L fraction that dephosphorylate palmitoyl-coenzyme A, a substrate for DHAP-AT. The localizations of DHAP-AT and alkyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate synthase in the rat liver peroxisomal membrane were studied. It is shown that in intact peroxisomes, DHAP-AT and alkyl-DHAP synthase are resistant to proteolytic inactivation by trypsin, as is fatty acid beta-oxidation activity, which served as a marker for the intactness of the peroxisomal membrane. Catalase was found not to be a suitable marker to assess peroxisome intactness in view of its relative insensitivity to trypsin. In 1-lauroyllysophosphatidylcholine-permeabilized peroxisomes, DHAP-AT, alkyl-DHAP synthase and beta-oxidation activities were rapidly inactivated by trypsin. It is concluded that in rat liver peroxisomes, at least the active sites of the integral membrane proteins DHAP-AT and alkyl-DHAP synthase are localized exclusively at the inner surface of the peroxisomal membrane.

Subcellular distribution and properties of acyl/alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate reductase in rodent livers

On subcellular fractionation, the enzyme acyl/alkyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) reductase (EC 1.1.1.101) in guinea pig and rat liver was found to be present in both the light mitochondrial (L) and microsomal fractions. By using metrizamide density gradient centrifugation, it was shown that the alkyl DHAP reductase activity in the "L" fraction is localized mainly in peroxisomes. From the distribution of the marker enzymes it was calculated that about two-thirds of the liver reductase activity is in the peroxisomes and the rest in the microsomes. The properties of this enzyme in peroxisomes and microsomes are similar with respect to heat inactivation, pH optima, sensitivity to trypsin, and inhibition by NADP+ and acyl CoA. The enzyme activity in the peroxisomes and microsomes from mouse liver is increased to the same extent by chronically feeding the animals clofibrate, a hypolipidemic drug. The kinetic properties of this enzyme in these two different organelles are also similar. From these results it is concluded that the same enzyme is present in two different subcellular compartments of liver.

Glycerolipid synthetic capacity of rat liver peroxisomes

Investigations on rat liver peroxisomal glycerolipid synthetic capability were performed. Highly purified peroxisomal preparations contained dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase, acyldihydroxyacetone-phosphate reductase, and fatty acid-CoA ligase activities. Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase, phosphatidic acid phosphatase, diacylglycerol acyltransferase, diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase, diacylglycerol ethanolaminephosphotransferase and ethanol acyltransferase activities were low in activity or not detected. These results suggest that the peroxisomes are specialized to contribute to the synthesis of ether-linked glycerolipids. If peroxisomes contribute towards the synthesis of non-ether-linked glycerolipids (i.e., ester-linked) then translocation of acyl glycerophosphatide (acyl dihydroxyacetone phosphatide) from peroxisomes to endoplasmic reticulum would be expected to occur.

Solubilization and partial purification of dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase from guinea pig liver

Dihydroxyacetone-phosphate:acyl coenzyme A acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.42) was solubilized and partially purified from guinea pig liver crude peroxisomal fraction. The peroxisomal membrane was isolated after osmotic shock treatment and the bound dihydroxyacetone-phosphate acyltransferase was solubilized by treatment with a mixture of KCl-sodium cholate. The solubilized enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation followed by Sepharose 6B gel filtration. The enzyme was purified 1200-fold relative to the guinea pig liver homogenate and 80- to 100-fold from the crude peroxisomal fraction, with an overall yield of 25-30% from peroxisomes. The partially purified enzyme was stimulated two- to fourfold by Asolectin (a soybean phospholipid preparation), and also by individual classes of phospholipid such as phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol. The kinetic properties of the enzyme showed that in the absence of Asolectin there was a discontinuity in the reciprocal plot indicating two different apparent Km values (0.1 and 0.5 mM) for dihydroxyacetone phosphate. The Vmax was 333 nmol/min/mg protein. In the presence of Asolectin the reciprocal plot was linear, with a Km = 0.1 mM and no change in Vmax. The enzyme catalyzed both an exchange of acyl groups between dihydroxyacetone phosphate and palmitoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate in the presence of CoA and the formation of palmitoyl [3H]coenzyme A from palmitoyl dihydroxyacetone phosphate and [3H]coenzyme A, indicating that the reaction is reversible. The partially purified enzyme preparation had negligible glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.15) activity.

Transmembrane orientation of palmitoyl-CoA: lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase in microsomes isolated from an alveolar type II cell adenoma and rat liver

1. The transverse localization of palmitoyl-CoA : lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase in the membrane of microsomal vesicles isolated from mouse lung adenomas and rat liver was studied by treating intact and deoxycholate-disrupted microsomes with trypsin and pronase. 2. The latency of mannose-6-phosphatase was preserved during protease treatment, suggesting that membrane integrity was not affected. 3. In adenoma microsomes 35-50% and in liver microsomes 35% of lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase activity is accessible to the action of the proteases. Our results suggest that at least a sizable portion of the active center of the enzyme that is responsible for remodeling phospholipids is embedded in the membrane interior. 4. Since enzymes involved in de novo lipid synthesis are reported to be located at the cytoplasmic surface of the microsomal membrane, our results support the notion that in lipid metabolism distinct metabolic pools might exist at opposite sides of the microsomal membrane.

Topography of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylgycerol biosynthetic enzymes in rat liver microsomes

The topography of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol biosynthetic enzymes within the transverse plane of rat liver microsomes was investigated using two impermeant inhibitors, mercury-dextran and dextran-maleimide. Between 70 and 98% of the activities of fatty acid : CoA ligase (EC 6.2.1.3), sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.15), phosphatidic acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.4), diacylglycerol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.20), diacylglycerol cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) and diacylglycerol ethanolaminephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.1) were inactivated by mercury-dextran. Dextran-maleimide caused 52% inactivation of the sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase. Inactivation of each of these activities except fatty acid : CoA ligase occurred in microsomal vesicles which remained intact as evidenced by the maintenance of highly latent mannose-6-phosphatase activity (EC 3.1.3.9). These glycerolipid biosynthetic activities were not latent, indicating that substrates have free access to the active sites. Moreover, ATP, CDP-choline and CMP appeared unable to penetrate the microsome membrane. These data indicate that the active sites of thease enzymes are located on the external surface of microsomal vesicles. It is concluded that the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol occurs asymmetrically on the cytoplasmic surface of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Synthesis and content of ether-linked glycerophospholipids in the harderian gland of rabbits

Although harderian glands are rich in neutral glycerolipids with ether bonds, less than 20% of the choline glycerophospholipids have ether bonds in the white and pink portions of the adult rabbit harderian gland. Only 6% of these are plasmalogens while 94% are alkylacyl glycerophosphocholines. The ethanolamine glycerophospholipids include 37% with ether bonds in both white and pink portions. In the white portion 96% are plasmalogens but only 19% are plasmalogens in the pink portion. The microsomal ethanolaminephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.1) is more active with diacylglycerols than with alkylacylglycerols. The microsomal cholinephosphotransferase (EC 2.7.8.2) is equally active with both diradylglycerols. Particularly with microsomes from the pink portion, the apparent Km values for CDPethanolamine and CDPcholine are ower in the presence of alkylacylglycerols than in the presence of diacylglycerols. The incorporation of radioactivity from CDP[14C]ethanolamine and CDP[14C]choline into ethanolamine and choline plasmalogens was increased several-fold by addition of alkylacylglycerols but was not increased substantially by addition of diacylglycerols.