Cloning, functional expression and purification of endo-beta-galactosidase from Flavobacterium keratolyticus

Endoglycosidase assay using enzymatically synthesized fluorophore-labeled glycans as substrates to uncover enzyme substrate specificities

Glycan synthesis and degradation are not template but enzyme only driven processes. Substrate specificities of glyco-enzymes determine the structures of specific natural glycans. Using endoglycosidases as examples, we describe methods to study these enzymes. Endoglycosidase S/S2 specifically deglycosylates the conserved N-glycans of human immunoglobulin G. Endo-β-Galactosidase hydrolyzes internal β-galactosyl linkage in polylactosaminoglycan structures. To assay these enzymes, eleven fluorophore-labeled N-glycans and one polylactosamine ladder are synthesized. Digestion of these glycans result in mobility shift in gel electrophoresis. Results on Endo S/S2 assays reveal that they are most active on the agalactosylated biantennary N-glycans with decreased activity on galactosylated and sialylated glycans and little or no activity on branched and bisected glycans. Assays on Endo-β-Gal reveal that the enzyme is active from pH 3.5 to 9.0 and the β3-linked GlcNAc adjacent to the cleavage site is minimal for the enzyme recognition with the optimal recognition motif spanning at least four lactosamine repeats. Our methods will provide an opportunity to understand how specific glycans are synthesized and degraded.

Enzymatic synthesis of fluorophore-labeled glycans and their usage of substrates reveals substrate specificities of endoglycosidases.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Oligosaccharides and Neoglycoconjugates

Oligosaccharides involved in glycoconjugates play important roles in a number of biological events. To elucidate the biological functions of oligosaccharides, sufficient quantities of structurally defined oligosaccharides, are of limited availability by traditional purification methods, are required. Hence, chemical and enzymatic syntheses of oligosaccharides are becoming increasingly important in glycobiology and glycotechnology. In addition, oligosaccharides often occur as glycoconjugates attached to proteins or lipids. Hence, the development of simple and effective methods for synthesizing neoglycoconjugates such as neoglycoprotein and neoglycolipids is essential for an understanding of the biological function of these molecules. Here we review the most recent developments in the enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides and neoglycoconjugates.

Mutational insights into the roles of amino acid residues in ligand binding for two closely related family 16 carbohydrate binding modules

Carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) are specialized proteins that bind to polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. Caldanaerobius polysaccharolyticus Man5ACBM16-1/CBM16-2 bind to glucose-, mannose-, and glucose/mannose-configured substrates. The crystal structures of the two proteins represent the only examples in CBM family 16, and studies that evaluate the roles of amino acid residues in ligand binding in this family are lacking. In this study, we probed the roles of amino acids (selected based on CBM16-1/ligand co-crystal structures) on substrate binding. Two tryptophan (Trp-20 and Trp-125) and two glutamine (Gln-81 and Gln-93) residues are shown to be critical in ligand binding. Additionally, several polar residues that flank the critical residues also contribute to ligand binding. The CBM16-1 Q121E mutation increased affinity for all substrates tested, whereas the Q21G and N97R mutants exhibited decreased substrate affinity. We solved CBM/substrate co-crystal structures to elucidate the molecular basis of the increased substrate binding by CBM16-1 Q121E. The Gln-121, Gln-21, and Asn-97 residues can be manipulated to fine-tune ligand binding by the Man5A CBMs. Surprisingly, none of the eight residues investigated was absolutely conserved in CBM family 16. Thus, the critical residues in the Man5A CBMs are either not essential for substrate binding in the other members of this family or the two CBMs are evolutionarily distinct from the members available in the current protein database. Man5A is dependent on its CBMs for robust activity, and insights from this study should serve to enhance our understanding of the interdependence of its catalytic and substrate binding modules.

Degradation of lambda-carrageenan by Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora lambda-carrageenase: a new family of glycoside hydrolases unrelated to kappa- and iota-carrageenases

Carrageenans are sulfated galactans found in the cell walls of red seaweeds. They are classified according to the number and the position of sulfate ester groups. lambda-Carrageenan is the most sulfated carrageenan and carries at least three sulfates per disaccharide unit. The sole known depolymerizing enzyme of lambda-carrageenan, the lambda-carrageenase from Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora, has been purified, cloned and sequenced. Sequence analyses have revealed that the lambda-carrageenase, referred to as CglA, is the first member of a new family of GHs (glycoside hydrolases), which is unrelated to families GH16, that contains kappa-carrageenases, and GH82, that contains iota-carrageenases. This large enzyme (105 kDa) features a low-complexity region, suggesting the presence of a linker connecting at least two independent modules. The N-terminal region is predicted to fold as a beta-propeller. The main degradation products have been purified and characterized as neo-lambda-carratetraose [DP (degree of polymerization) 4] and neo-lambda-carrahexaose (DP6), indicating that CglA hydrolyses the beta-(1-->4) linkage of lambda-carrageenan. LC-MALLS (liquid chromatography-multi-angle laser light scattering) and (1)H-NMR monitoring of the enzymatic degradation of lambda-carrageenan indicate that CglA proceeds according to an endolytic mode of action and a mechanism of inversion of the anomeric configuration. Using 2-aminoacridone-labelled neo-lambda-carrabiose oligosaccharides, in the present study we demonstrate that the active site of CglA comprises at least 8 subsites (-4 to +4) and that a DP6 oligosaccharide binds in the subsites -4 to +2 and can be hydrolysed into DP4 and DP2.

Degradation of λ-carrageenan by Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora λ-carrageenase: a new family of glycoside hydrolases unrelated to κ- and ι-carrageenases

Carrageenans are sulfated galactans found in the cell walls of red seaweeds. They are classified according to the number and the position of sulfate ester groups. λ-Carrageenan is the most sulfated carrageenan and carries at least three sulfates per disaccharide unit. The sole known depolymerizing enzyme of λ-carrageenan, the λ-carrageenase from Pseudoalteromonas carrageenovora, has been purified, cloned and sequenced. Sequence analyses have revealed that the λ-carrageenase, referred to as CglA, is the first member of a new family of GHs (glycoside hydrolases), which is unrelated to families GH16, that contains κ-carrageenases, and GH82, that contains ι-carrageenases. This large enzyme (105 kDa) features a low-complexity region, suggesting the presence of a linker connecting at least two independent modules. The N-terminal region is predicted to fold as a β-propeller. The main degradation products have been purified and characterized as neo-λ-carratetraose [DP (degree of polymerization) 4] and neo-λ-carrahexaose (DP6), indicating that CglA hydrolyses the β-(1→4) linkage of λ-carrageenan. LC-MALLS (liquid chromatography-multi-angle laser light scattering) and 1H-NMR monitoring of the enzymatic degradation of λ-carrageenan indicate that CglA proceeds according to an endolytic mode of action and a mechanism of inversion of the anomeric configuration. Using 2-aminoacridone-labelled neo-λ-carrabiose oligosaccharides, in the present study we demonstrate that the active site of CglA comprises at least 8 subsites (−4 to +4) and that a DP6 oligosaccharide binds in the subsites −4 to +2 and can be hydrolysed into DP4 and DP2.

Enzymatic synthesis of poly-N-acetyllactosamines as potential substrates for endo-β-galactosidase-catalyzed hydrolytic and transglycosylation reactions

Enzymatic synthesis of GlcNAc-terminated poly-N-acetyllactosamine beta-glycosides GlcNAcbeta1,3(Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3)(n)Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (n=1-4) was demonstrated using a transglycosylation reaction of Escherichia freundii endo-beta-galactosidase. The enzyme catalyzed a transglycosylation reaction on GlcNAcbeta1,3Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (1), which served both as a donor and an acceptor, and converted 1 into p-nitrophenyl beta-glycosides GlcNAcbeta1,3(Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3)(1)Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (2), GlcNAcbeta1,3(Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3)(2)Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (3), GlcNAcbeta1,3(Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3)(3)Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (4) and GlcNAcbeta1,3(Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3)(4)Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta-pNP (5). When 2 was used as an initial substrate, it led to the preferential synthesis of nonasaccharide beta-glycoside 4 to heptasaccharide beta-glycoside 3. This suggests that 4 is directly synthesized by transferring the tetrasaccharide unit GlcNAcbeta1,3Galbeta1,4GlcNAcbeta1,3Gal to nonreducing end GlcNAc residue of 2 itself. The efficiency of production of poly-N-acetyllactosamines by E. freundii endo-beta-galactosidase was significantly enhanced by the addition of BSA and by a low-temperature condition. Resulting 2 and 3 were shown to be useful for studying endo-beta-galactosidase-catalyzed hydrolytic and transglycosylation reactions.

A clostridial endo-beta-galactosidase that cleaves both blood group A and B glycotopes: the first member of a new glycoside hydrolase family, GH98

We have isolated an endo-beta-galactosidase designated E-ABase from Clostridium perfringens ATCC 10543 capable of liberating both the A trisaccharide (A-Tri; GalNAcalpha1-->3(Fucalpha1-->2)Gal) and B trisaccharide (B-Tri; Galalpha1-->3(Fucalpha1-->2)Gal) from glycoconjugates containing blood group A and B glycotopes, respectively. We have subsequently cloned the gene (eabC) that encodes E-ABase from this organism. This gene was found to be identical to the CPE0329 gene of C. perfringens strain 13, whose product was labeled as a hypothetical protein (Shimizu, T., Ohtani, K., Hirakawa, H., Ohshima, K., Yamashita, A., Shiba, T., Ogasawara, N., Hattori, M., Kuhara, S., and Hayashi, H. (2002) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 99, 996-1001). Since the amino acid sequence of E-ABase does not bear detectable similarity to any of the 97 existing families of glycoside hydrolases, we have proposed to assign this unusual enzyme to a new family, GH98. We also expressed eabC in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and obtained 27 mg of fully active recombinant E-ABase from 1 liter of culture. Recombinant E-ABase not only destroyed the blood group A and B antigenicity of human type A and B erythrocytes, but also released A-Tri and B-Tri from blood group A(+)- and B(+)- containing glycoconjugates. The structures of A-Tri and B-Tri liberated from A(+) porcine gastric mucin and B(+) human ovarian cyst glycoprotein were established by NMR spectroscopy. The unique specificity of E-ABase should make it useful for studying the structure and function of blood group A- and B-containing glycoconju-gates as well as for identifying other glycosidases belonging to the new GH98 family.

Molecular characterization and expression in Escherichia coli of three beta-1,3-glucanase genes from Lysobacter enzymogenes strain N4-7

Lysobacter enzymogenes strain N4-7 produces multiple biochemically distinct extracellular beta-1,3-glucanase activities. The gluA, gluB, and gluC genes, encoding enzymes with beta-1,3-glucanase activity, were identified by a reverse-genetics approach following internal amino acid sequence determination of beta-1,3-glucanase-active proteins partially purified from culture filtrates of strain N4-7. Analysis of gluA and gluC gene products indicates that they are members of family 16 glycoside hydrolases that have significant sequence identity to each other throughout the catalytic domain but that differ structurally by the presence of a family 6 carbohydrate-binding domain within the gluC product. Analysis of the gluB gene product indicates that it is a member of family 64 glycoside hydrolases. Expression of each gene in Escherichia coli resulted in the production of proteins with beta-1,3-glucanase activity. Biochemical analyses of the recombinant enzymes indicate that GluA and GluC exhibit maximal activity at pH 4.5 and 45 degrees C and that GluB is most active between pH 4.5 and 5.0 at 41 degrees C. Activity of recombinant proteins against various beta-1,3 glucan substrates indicates that GluA and GluC are most active against linear beta-1,3 glucans, while GluB is most active against the insoluble beta-1,3 glucan substrate zymosan A. These data suggest that the contribution of beta-1,3-glucanases to the biocontrol activity of L. enzymogenes may be due to complementary activities of these enzymes in the hydrolysis of beta-1,3 glucans from fungal cell walls.

A novel endo-beta-galactosidase from Clostridium perfringens that liberates the disaccharide GlcNAcalpha 1-->Gal from glycans specifically expressed in the gastric gland mucous cell-type mucin

We found that commercially available sialidases prepared from Clostridium perfringens ATCC10543 were contaminated with an endoglycosidase capable of releasing the disaccharide GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal from glycans expressed in the gastric gland mucous cell-type mucin. We have isolated this enzyme in electrophoretically homogeneous form from the culture supernatant of this organism by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by affinity chromatography using a Sephacryl S-200 HR column. The enzyme was specifically retained by and eluted from the column with methyl-alpha-Glc. By NMR spectroscopy, the structure of the disaccharide released from porcine gastric mucin by this enzyme was established to be GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal. The specificity of this enzyme as an endo-beta-galactosidase was established by analyzing the liberation of GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal from GlcNAcalpha1-->4Galbeta1-->4GlcNAcbeta1-->6(GlcNAcalpha1--> 4Galbeta1-->3)GalNAc-ol by mass spectrometry. Because this novel endo-beta-galactosidase specifically releases the GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal moiety from porcine gastric mucin, we propose to call this enzyme a GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal-releasing endo-beta-galactosidase (Endo-beta-Gal(GnGa)). Endo-beta-Gal(GnGa) was found to remove the GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal epitope expressed in gastric adenocarcinoma AGS cells transfected with alpha1,4-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase cDNA. Endo-beta-Gal(GnGa) should become useful for studying the structure and function of glycoconjugates containing the terminal GlcNAcalpha1-->4Gal epitope.

Molecular cloning of endo-beta -galactosidase C and its application in removing alpha -galactosyl xenoantigen from blood vessels in the pig kidney

Galalpha1-3Gal is the major xenoantigenic epitope responsible for hyperacute rejection upon pig to human xenotransplantation. Endo-beta-galactosidase C from Clostridium perfringens destroys the antigenic epitope by cleaving the beta-galactosidic linkage in the Galalpha1-3Galbeta1-4GlcNAc structure. Based on partial peptide sequences of the enzyme, we molecularly cloned the enzyme gene, which encodes a protein with a predicted molecular mass of about 93 kDa. The deduced protein sequence of the enzyme has limited homology in the C-terminal half with endo-beta-galactosidase from Flavobacterium keratolyticus and beta-1,3-glucanases. The enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli removed the alpha-galactosyl epitope nearly completely from pig erythrocytes and from pig aortic endothelial cells. The enzyme-treated endothelial cells in culture were greatly reduced in cell surface antigens, which were recognized by IgM, IgG, or IgA in human sera, and became much less susceptible to complement-mediated cytotoxicity caused by human sera. When the pig kidney was perfused with the enzyme, the vascular endothelial cells became virtually devoid of the alpha-galactosyl epitope, with concomitant decrease in binding to IgM in human plasma. These results demonstrated that the recombinant endo-beta-galactosidase C is a valuable aid in xenotransplantation.

Binding of human natural antibodies to nonalphaGal xenoantigens on porcine erythrocytes

BACKGROUND

Xenotransplantation is considered one of possible solutions for the serious shortage of organs and cells in transplantation. Although the alphaGal epitope (Gal alpha1,3Gal beta1,4GlcNAc-R) has been identified as being a major xenoantigen responsible for hyperacute rejection, the removal of anti-alphaGal antibody alone from human serum is insufficient to circumvent antibody-mediated immune responses.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We report here the characterization of xenoreactive human natural antibodies against antigens without the alphaGal epitope (nonalphaGal xenoantigens) on porcine erythrocytes using flow cytometry and the evidence for their involvement in complement-mediated hemolysis. Furthermore, a novel protein of 45-kDa has been isolated from the porcine erythrocyte membrane as a major protein antigen recognized by human anti-nonalphaGal.

CONCLUSION

The data presented here will add to our knowledge of xenoantigens on porcine red cells and be important for developing strategies to produce modified red cells immunologically compatible to humans.