[Presence of a pathway for biosynthesis of UDP-glucose in the Golgi apparatus of rat hepatocytes]

Purification of a UTP:D-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase from Golgi apparatus of cat liver by affinity chromatography on UTP-agarose

UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from Golgi apparatus solubilized by detergent has been purified 100-fold from microsomes by affinity chromatography on UTP-agarose. The purified enzyme has apparent Mr 270,000 and isoelectric pH 3.9 against 360,000 and 4.2 for soluble enzyme. According to these characteristics, UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase from Golgi apparatus is different from cytosolic enzyme.

Evidence for coupling between transport of UDP-glucose and its synthesis by membrane-bound pyrophosphorylase in Golgi apparatus of cat liver

Incubation of sealed vesicles of cat-liver Golgi apparatus with UDP[14C]glucose showed that the vesicles accumulated radioactivity. After Triton X-100 treatment or sonication of washed vesicles, soluble radiolabeled species were released and identified by paper chromatography as UDP[14C]glucose, [14C]glucose 1-phosphate and free glucose. In the incubation medium, UDPglucose was effectively protected by addition of dimercaptopropanol and UTP. Presence of glucose 1-phosphate and glucose within the vesicles most probably arose from luminal pyrophosphatase and phosphatase. A portion of the [14C]glucose moiety became covalently linked to endogenous acceptors. Uptake of UDPglucose was saturable and dependent on time and on the concentration of sugar nucleotide. Together, these results were consistent with a transport system for UDPglucose in Golgi vesicles. Furthermore, penetration rate was considerably higher with UDPglucose synthetized in situ from glucose 1-phosphate by membrane-bound pyrophosphorylase than from added UDPglucose: Vmax values were respectively 10 and 2 pmol/15 min per mg protein. This result allows the conclusion that a coupling between translocase and synthetase is involved in UDPglucose transport through Golgi apparatus membranes. The mechanism of this 'kinetic advantage' is discussed.

Properties of uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase from Golgi apparatus of liver

Golgi apparatus isolated from cat liver contained UDPglucose pyrophosphorylase (UTP:alpha-D-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.9) activity. The results of washing suggested that pyrophosphorylase was bound firmly to Golgi membranes. Moreover, the enzyme was activated by Triton X-100 in the same extent as galactosyltransferase, a typical Golgi apparatus enzyme. Two-substrate kinetic studies were performed with the enzymes from cytosol and Golgi fractions. The soluble enzyme showed an apparent 2.5-fold greater activity for the glucose 1-phosphate than for UTP, while pyrophosphorylase of Golgi apparatus had the same affinity for the two substrates. A random mechanism was observed with a direct dependence of apparent Michaelis constant values on the concentration of second substrate for soluble enzyme. In contrast, with Golgi enzyme one ligand had no effect on the binding of the other.

The possible role of lipid intermediates in the synthesis of β-glucans by a membrane fraction from pollen tubes of Petunia hybrida

A membrane fraction, isolated from pollen tubes of Petunia hybrida, catalyses the incorporation of glucose from UDP-glucose into sucrose, cellodextrins, β-glucans, sterol glucosides and polyprenol monophosphate glucose. Incorporation studies with isolated lipids and kinetic and double-labelling studies indicated that glucolipids are not intermediates in the synthesis of β-glucans in this system.

[Isolation by affinity chromatography of specialized membrane fractions from cat liver microsomes]

Microsomal glucokinase is solubilized by incubation in the presence of several metabolites. After solubilization of the enzymes, the membranes present free sites for specific binding of glucokinase, therefore, they can be purified by affinity chromatography on Sepharose--ATP-glucokinase. This method yields membranous vesicles which contain, in addition to glucokinase, uridylyl-transferase, phosphoglucomutase, sialyl-transferase and adenylate cyclase. Galactosyl-transferase, glucose-6-phosphatase and NADPH cytochrome c reductase are absent. It appears that functionally related enzyme from UDP-glucose biosynthesis are aggregated onto specific patches of the membrane, most likely from Golgi apparatus.