Identification and analysis of glycoinositol phospholipid anchors in membrane proteins

Isolation of phosphooligosaccharide/phosphoinositol glycan from caveolae and cytosol of insulin-stimulated cells

A phosphooligosaccharide has been proposed as a second messenger of insulin. It is believed to be structurally related to the carbohydrate moiety of phosphatidylinositol glycan anchors of many cell surface proteins. Herein we demonstrate that [32]phosphate in freshly isolated adipocytes and [3H]galactose in cultured hepatoma cells (H4IIE) labeled the same set of three different glycolipids. With all three, the radiolabel was made water soluble by phosphatidylinositol(glycan)-specific phospholipase C or D catalyzed hydrolysis. We isolated the three phospholipase C-released substances. One of them was susceptible to nitrous acid deamination, indicative of a hexosamine with a free amino group. This phosphooligosaccharide structure had an apparent molecular mass between tetra- and pentaglucose by gel filtration. By anion-exchange chromatography it was separated into two differently charged and interconvertible species. Adipocytes stimulated with insulin accumulated the nitrous acid sensitive phosphooligosaccharide: after stimulation the intracellular level of free phosphooligosaccharide increased threefold within 5 min, fell off during the next few minutes and then remained at a slightly elevated level. After insulin stimulation the intracellular concentration of free phosphooligosaccharide was > 1,000-fold higher than in the incubation medium. When prepared from rat livers on a preparative scale, the oligosaccharide was also found to exhibit insulinomimetic effects on protein phosphorylation of insulin target proteins in intact adipocytes. After subcellular fractionation of adipocytes the lipid-bound [32P]phosphooligosaccharide of the plasma membrane was found to be localized in plasma membrane domains apparently corresponding to caveolae. Lipid-bound [32P]phosphooligosaccharide was found also in the microsomal fraction.

Humoral immune response to the Trypanosoma cruzi complement regulatory protein as an indicator of parasitologic clearance in human Chagas' disease

Immunoprecipitation of the purified 160-kDa complement regulatory protein of Trypanosoma cruzi by Chagas' disease patient sera was examined as a possible correlate of the complement-mediated lysis test and as an indicator of parasite clearance. The results presented demonstrate that assessment of the humoral response to this antigen is a useful indicator of parasite clearance and may be particularly helpful in the assessment of some patients for whom other serological tests produce ambiguous results.

The molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase from Necator americanus (Nematoda), a hookworm parasite of the human intestine

Necator americanus (Nematoda: Strongyloidea), a human hookworm parasite, is known to release considerable amounts of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) [Pritchard, D. I., Leggett K. V., Rogan, M. T., McKean, P. G. & Brown, A. (1991) Necator americanus secretory acetylcholinesterase and its purification from excretory/secretory products by affinity chromatography, Parasite Immunol. 13, 187-199]. The present study deals with AChE activity recovered in sequential somatic extracts, and excretory/secretory products, of the adult stage of the parasite. 97% of AChE was extractable in low-salt and high-salt detergent-free buffers, and only 3% was solubilised by a further extraction in the presence of Triton X-100. AChE in all three extracts was affected by the AChE inhibitors eserine, bis(4-allyldimethylammoniumphenyl)pentan-3-one dibromide and edrophonium chloride, but was resistant to the effects of tetramonoisopropylpyrophosphortetramide, a butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor. Sucrose density centrifugation revealed that AChE in all somatic extracts (low-salt, high-salt and detergent) resolved almost exclusively as a single peak between 6.9-7.5 S, while excretory/secretory products resolved at 8.2 S. These values are all compatible with dimers of catalytic subunits and no evidence was found for the presence of higher oligomers such as asymmetric forms. The only sample to show a shift in sedimentation following the inclusion of detergent (Triton X-100, Brij 96) in the gradient was a component of the detergent-soluble extract, indicating the existence of a minor amphiphilic form. In low-salt-soluble and high-salt-soluble extracts, AChE was solubilised as a hydrophilic globular form, probably a dimeric G2. The analysis of diisopropylfluorophosphate-labelled extracts by SDS/PAGE, and unlabelled extracts by immunoblotting using a polyvalent antiserum to N. americanus AChE, indicated that the AChE isolated in each extract was biochemically and immunologically similar. The banding patterns obtained were comparable to that seen when purified AChE was analysed by SDS/PAGE and immunoblotted. This suggests that the basic catalytic subunit has a mass of 66-70 kDa with the active site being located in a 30-kDa domain. All experimental data indicate the existence of only one AChE class in Necator homologous to AChE of class B from Caenorhabditis elegans. The solubility characteristics and globular nature of this hookworm AChE suggest that its major function is as an excretory or secretory product. This again raises the question of the true biological function of this 'non-cholinergenic' nematode secretion.

Biochemical analysis of the membrane and soluble forms of the complement regulatory protein of Trypanosoma cruzi

A developmentally regulated, 160-kDa trypomastigote surface glycoprotein was previously shown to bind the third component of complement and to inhibit activation of the alternative complement pathway, thus providing the parasites a means of avoiding the lytic effects of complement. We now show that this complement regulatory protein (CRP) binds human C4b, a component of the classical pathway C3 convertase, and may therefore also act to restrict classical complement activation. Characterization of the extent of carbohydrate modification of the protein revealed extensive N-linked glycosylation and no apparent O-linked sugars. The CRP purified from parasites treated with an inhibitor of N-linked glycosylation exhibited a decreased binding affinity for C3b compared with that of the fully glycosylated protein. We have previously shown that the protein was anchored to the membrane via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol linkage and was spontaneously shed from the parasite surface. The spontaneous release of CRP from the parasite surface may augment the protection of the parasites from complement-mediated lysis by the removal of complement-CRP complexes. The majority of the shed CRP had an apparent molecular mass of 160 kDa and lacked the glycolipid anchor, whereas the membrane form was recovered with the glycolipid anchor attached and had an apparent molecular mass of 185 kDa. Both the membrane form (185 kDa) and the soluble form (160 kDa) retained binding affinity for C3b. Evidence is presented to indicate that the conversion of the 185-kDa membrane form to the 160-kDa form is the result of cleavage by an endogenous phospholipase C.

Calcium influxes and calmodulin modulate the expression and physicochemical properties of acetylcholinesterase molecular forms during development in vivo

1. Acetylcholinesterase (AcChoE; EC 3.1.1.7) exists in several molecular forms that may be anchored to cell membranes or associated with extracellular matrix. AcChoE bound to lipidic membranes is detergent extractable (DE AcChoE), whereas the enzyme associated with extracellular matrix is high salt soluble (HSS AcChoE). The latter variant is accumulated in synaptic regions by an unknown mechanism. 2. We have suggested previously that depolarization-induced Ca2+ influx is a major factor that modulates AcChoE synthesis in vivo, as well as the conversion of some DE AcChoE to HSS variant. In the present study, we have examined (i) the effects of depolarization-induced skeletal muscle inactivity and ionophore-induced Ca2+ influxes on the expression of AcChoE molecular forms and (ii) the hypothesis that Ca(2+)-dependent calmodulin may be involved in the conversion of at least some forms of DE AcChoE to HSS variant in vivo. 3. Chick embryos were treated in ovo during the early period of nerve-muscle interactions with d-tubocurarine (dTC; a competitive neuromuscular blocking agent) or with decamethonium (dMET; a depolarizing agent). Both dTC and dMET equally and significantly reduced embryonic neuromuscular activity (motility). However, dTC significantly decreased AcChoE overall activity, whereas dMET had virtually no effect on AcChoE expression, compared to controls. 4. Treatment of embryos with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 significantly increased the total AcChoE activity as well as the DE/HSS ratio of each AcChoE molecular form. However, treatment with N-(6-Aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (also termed W-7), a calmodulin antagonist, did not alter the total AcChoE activity, but significantly increased the DE/HSS ratio of AcChoE forms. 5. These results support the idea that (i) depolarization and/or Ca2+ influxes, but not muscle contraction, may regulate AcChoE expression in skeletal muscle and (ii) Ca(2+)-dependent calmodulin activation may be involved in the conversion of some DE AcChoE to their HSS variant in vivo.

Acetylcholinesterases of the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. Characterization of two types of amphiphilic forms differing in their mode of membrane association

We analyzed the molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. Two major AChEs are involved in acetylcholine hydrolysis. The first class of AChE is highly sensitive to eserine (IC50 = 0.05 microM). The corresponding molecular forms are: an amphiphilic 14S form converted into a hydrophilic 14.5S form by mild proteolysis and two hydrophilic 12S and 7S forms. Reduction of the amphiphilic 14S form with 10 mM dithiothreitol produces hydrophilic 7S and 4S forms, indicating that it is an oligomer of hydrophilic catalytic subunits linked by disulfide bond(s) to a hydrophobic structural element that confers the amphiphilicity to the complex. Sedimentation coefficients suggest that 4S, 7S, 12S forms correspond to hydrophilic monomer, dimer, tetramer and that the 14S form is also a tetramer linked to one structural element. The second class of AChE is less sensitive to eserine (IC50 = 0.1 mM). Corresponding molecular forms are hydrophilic and amphiphilic 4S forms (monomers) and a major amphiphilic 7S form converted into a hydrophilic dimer by Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. This amphiphilic 7S form thus possesses a glycolipid anchor. It appears that Steinernema (a very primitive invertebrate) presents AChEs with two types of membrane association that closely resemble those described for amphiphilic G2 and G4 forms of AChE in more evolved animals.

Phosphorylation of Toxoplasma gondii major surface antigens

The phosphorylation of the major surface proteins of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites was investigated. Metabolic labeling of intracellular tachyzoites with [32P]-orthophosphate followed by immunoprecipitation with specific monoclonal antibodies showed that all five major surface proteins were labeled as expected for GPI-anchored proteins. More detailed analysis of the phosphorylated sites revealed that surface proteins P30 and P22 contained phosphoserine residues in addition to the phosphorylated molecules that are presumably localized in the GPI-membrane anchors.

Amphiphilic and nonamphiphilic forms of bovine and human dopamine beta-hydroxylase

We show that human and bovine dopamine beta-hydroxylases (DBH) exist under three main molecular forms: a soluble nonamphiphilic form and two amphiphilic forms. Sedimentation in sucrose gradients and electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions, by comparison with acetylcholinesterase (AChE), suggest that the three forms are tetramers of the DBH catalytic subunit and bind either no detergent, one detergent micelle, or two detergent micelles. By analogy with the Gna4 and Ga4 AChE forms, we propose to call the nonamphiphilic tetramer Dna4 and the amphiphilic tetramers Da4I and Da4II. In addition to the major tetrameric forms, DBH dimers occur as very minor species, both amphiphilic and nonamphiphilic. Reduction under nondenaturing conditions leads to a partial dissociation of tetramers into dimers, retaining their amphiphilic character. This suggests that the hydrophobic domain is not linked to the subunits through disulfide bonds. The two amphiphilic tetramers are insensitive to phosphatidylinositol phospholipase C, but may be converted into soluble DBH by proteolysis in a stepwise manner; Da4II----Da4I----Dna4. Incubation of soluble DBH with various phospholipids did not produce any amphiphilic form. Several bands corresponding to the catalytic subunits of bovine DBH were observed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, but this multiplicity was not simply correlated with the amphiphilic character of the enzyme. In the case of human DBH, we observed two bands of 78 and 84 kDa. As previously reported by others, the presence of the heavy subunit characterizes the amphiphilic forms of the enzyme. We discuss the nature of the hydrophobic domain, which could be an uncleaved signal peptide, and the organization of the different amphiphilic and nonamphiphilic DBH forms. We present two models in which dimers may possess either one hydrophobic domain or two domains belonging to each subunit; in both cases, a single detergent micelle would be bound per dimer.

Rapid analysis of glycolipid anchors in amphiphilic dimers of acetylcholinesterases

1. We describe two simple procedures for the rapid identification of certain structural features of glycolipid anchors in acetylcholinesterases (AChEs). 2. Treatment with alkaline hydroxylamine (that cleaves ester-linked acyl chains but not ether-linked alkyl chains) converts molecules possessing a diacylglycerol, but not those with an alkylacylglycerol, into hydrophilic derivatives. AChEs in human and bovine erythrocytes possess an alkylacylglycerol (Roberts et al., J. Biol. Chem. 263:18766-18775, 1988; Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 150:271-277, 1988) and are not converted to hydrophilic dimers by alkaline hydroxylamine. Amphiphilic dimers of AChE from Drosophila, from mouse erythrocytes, and from the human erythroleukaemia cell line K562 also resist the treatment with hydroxylamine and likely possess a terminal alkylacylglycerol. This indicates that the cellular pool of free glycolipids used as precursors of protein anchors is distinct from the pool of membrane phosphatidylinositols (which contain diacylglycerols). 3. Pretreatment with alkaline hydroxylamine is required to render the amphiphilic AChE from human erythrocytes susceptible to digestion by Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) (Toutant et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 180:503-508, 1989). We show here that this is also the case for the AChE from mouse erythrocytes, which therefore likely possesses an additional acyl chain in the anchor that prevents the action of PI-PLC. 4. In two sublines of K562 cells (48 and 243), we observed that AChE either was directly susceptible to PI-PLC (243) or required a prior deacylation by alkaline hydroxylamine (48). This suggests that glycolipid anchors in AChE of K562-48 cells, but not those in AChE of K562-243 cells, contain the additional acylation demonstrated in AChE from human erythrocytes. These observations illustrate the cell specificity (and the lack of species-specificity) of the structure of glycolipid anchors.

Structural and functional investigations of cholinesterases by means of affinity electrophoresis

1. After a brief survey of the basic affinity electrophoresis concepts, the usual ways for preparing affinity electrophoresis ligands are examined. 2. Then results obtained on cholinesterases are reviewed. This section includes (a) structural and functional investigations on anionic sites, i.e., study of ligand-induced conformational change, organophosphate-induced "aging," genetic variants, and active-site topology; and (b) characterization of cholinesterase conjugates (hybrid proteins) and glycoinositol phospholipid-anchored cholinesterases. 3. The future prospects of affinity electrophoresis, e.g., investigations on the esteratic site and exploration of the carbohydrate moiety, are emphasized in the concluding section.

Amphiphilic, glycophosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC)-insensitive monomers and dimers of acetylcholinesterase

1. In a recent study, we distinguished two classes of amphiphilic AChE3 dimers in Torpedo tissues: class I corresponds to glycolipid-anchored dimers and class II molecules are characterized by their lack of sensitivity to PI-PLC and PI-PLD, relatively small shift in sedimentation with detergent, and absence of aggregation without detergent. 2. In the present report, we analyze the amphiphlic or nonamphiphilic properties of globular AChE forms in T28 murine neural cells, rabbit muscle, and chicken muscle. The molecular forms were identified by sucrose gradient sedimentation in the presence and absence of detergent and analyzed by nondenaturing charge-shift electrophoresis. Some amphiphilic forms showed an abnormal electrophoretic migration in the absence of detergent, because of the retention of detergent micelles. 3. We show that the amphiphilic monomers (G1a) from these tissues, as well as the amphiphilic dimers (G2a) from chicken muscle, resemble the class II dimers of Torpedo AChE. We cannot exclude that these molecules possess a glycolipidic anchor but suggest that their hydrophobic domain may be of a different nature. We discuss their relationship with other cholinesterase molecular forms.

Glycolipid anchorage of Plasmodium falciparum surface antigens

Human red blood cells (RBC) were infected with the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, the anchoring of schizont proteins to RBC membranes by glycoinositol phospholipids was demonstrated by three criteria: (1) metabolic incorporation of 3H-ethanolamine and 3H-myristate into the protein; (2) release of 35S-methionine-labelled protein into the supernatant after incubation with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C; and (3) the exposure of a glycoinositol phosphate epitope on the methionine-labelled protein following phospholipase C cleavage. Labelled proteins were analysed by immunoprecipitation, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecylsulphate and gel fluorography. Several candidate proteins were observed when each criteria was investigated. Among these, 3 proteins which met all three criteria were identified by immunoprecipitation with monospecific sera or monoclonal antibodies. These included 3 possible vaccine candidates, the p190 major surface antigen, the p76 serine protease and the p71 protein which is thought to be a member of the family of heat-shock Hsp70 proteins.

Molecular forms of acetylcholinesterase in two sublines of human erythroleukemia K562 cells. Sensitivity or resistance to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C and biosynthesis

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in K562 cells exists in two molecular forms. The major form, an amphiphilic dimer (G2a) which sediments at 5.3 S, and the minor form, an amphiphilic monomer (G1a) which sediments at 3.5 S. Extraction in the presence of the sulfhydryl alkylating agent N-ethylmaleimide was required to preserve the G2a form. In Triton X-100 extracts of the subline K562-243, phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PtdIns-PLC) from Bacillus thuringiensis converted most of the G2a AChE into a hydrophilic dimer (G2h), indicating that the G2a form possessed a hydrophobic glycoinositol phospholipid that mediated its attachment to the membrane. Treatment of intact K562-243 cells with PtdIns-PLC released approximately 60% of the total AChE activity and provided an estimate of the externally exposed AChE. The direct conversion from an amphiphilic to a hydrophilic dimeric form by PtdIns-PLC was not obtained in extracts or intact cells of the subline K562-48. Instead, pretreatment with alkaline hydroxylamine was necessary to render the amphiphilic G2 form of this subline susceptible to digestion by the phospholipase. In this respect, the amphiphilic dimer of K562-48 AChE resembles the G2a form of human erythrocyte AChE, which is resistant to PtdIns-PLC because of the direct palmitoylation of an inositol hydroxyl group in the anchor [Roberts et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18766-18775]. Release of this acyl chain by hydroxylamine renders the enzyme susceptible to PtdIns-PLC [Toutant et al. (1989) Eur. J. Biochem. 180, 503-508]. In both K562 sublines, sialidase decreased the migration of the G2a form but not of the G1a form of AChE. G1a forms thus appear to represent an intracellular pool of newly synthesized molecules residing in a compartment proximal to the trans-Golgi apparatus. The sialidase-resistant G1a molecules were also resistant to PtdIns-PLC digestion; possible explanations for this resistance are presented.