Mechanistic study of modulation of SR Ca2+-ATPpase activity by gangliosides GM1 and GM3 through some biophysical measurements

Glycobiology of ion transport in the nervous system

The nervous system is richly endowed with large transmembrane proteins that mediate ion transport, including gated ion channels as well as energy-consuming pumps and transporters. Transport proteins undergo N-linked glycosylation which can affect expression, location, stability, and function. The N-linked glycans of ion channels are large, contributing between 5 and 50 % of their molecular weight. Many contain a high density of negatively charged sialic acid residues which modulate voltage-dependent gating of ion channels. Changes in the size and chemical composition of glycans are responsible for developmental and cell-specific variability in the biophysical and functional properties of many ion channels. Glycolipids, principally gangliosides, exert considerable influence on some forms of ion transport, either through direct association with ion transport proteins or indirectly through association with proteins that activate transport through appropriate signaling. Examples of both pumps and ion channels have been revealed which depend on ganglioside regulation. While some of these processes are localized in the plasma membrane, ganglioside-regulated ion transport can also occur at various loci within the cell including the nucleus. This chapter will describe ion channel and ion pump structures with a focus on the functional effects of glycosylation on ion channel availability and function, and effects of alterations in glycosylation on nervous system function. It will also summarize highlights of the research on glycolipid/ganglioside-mediated regulation of ion transport.

Sphingolipids and gangliosides of the nervous system in membrane function and dysfunction

Simple sphingolipids such as ceramide and sphingomyelin (SM) as well as more complex glycosphingolipids play very important roles in cell function under physiological conditions and during disease development and progression. Sphingolipids are particularly abundant in the nervous system. Due to their amphiphilic nature they localize to cellular membranes and many of their roles in health and disease result from membrane reorganization and from lipid interaction with proteins within cellular membranes. In this review we discuss some of the functions of sphingolipids in processes that entail cellular membranes and their role in neurodegenerative diseases, with an emphasis on SM, ceramide and gangliosides.

Moderate strength (0.23-0.28 T) static magnetic fields (SMF) modulate signaling and differentiation in human embryonic cells

Background

Compelling evidence exists that magnetic fields modulate living systems. To date, however, rigorous studies have focused on identifying the molecular-level biosensor (e.g., radical ion pairs or membranes) or on the behavior of whole animals leaving a gap in understanding how molecular effects are translated into tissue-wide and organism-level responses. This study begins to bridge this gulf by investigating static magnetic fields (SMF) through global mRNA profiling in human embryonic cells coupled with software analysis to identify the affected signaling pathways.

Results

Software analysis of gene expression in cells exposed to 0.23–0.28 T SMF showed that nine signaling networks responded to SMF; of these, detailed biochemical validation was performed for the network linked to the inflammatory cytokine IL-6. We found the short-term (<24 h) activation of IL-6 involved the coordinate up-regulation of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) with complementary changes to NEU3 and ST3GAL5 that reduced ganglioside GM3 in a manner that augmented the activation of TLR4 and IL-6. Loss of GM3 also provided a plausible mechanism for the attenuation of cellular responses to SMF that occurred over longer exposure periods. Finally, SMF-mediated responses were manifest at the cellular level as morphological changes and biochemical markers indicative of pre-oligodendrocyte differentiation.

Conclusion

This study provides a framework describing how magnetic exposure is transduced from a plausible molecular biosensor (lipid membranes) to cell-level responses that include differentiation toward neural lineages. In addition, SMF provided a stimulus that uncovered new relationships – that exist even in the absence of magnetic fields – between gangliosides, the time-dependent regulation of IL-6 signaling by these glycosphingolipids, and the fate of embryonic cells.

Ganglioside GM2 modulates the erythrocyte Ca2+-ATPase through its binding to the calmodulin-binding domain and its 'receptor'

We have previously demonstrated that gangliosides were able to modulate the plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase (PMCA) from porcine brain synaptosomes and porcine erythrocytes [Y. Zhao, X. Fan, F. Yang, X. Zhang, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 427 (2004) 204-212 and J. Zhang, Y. Zhao, J. Duan, F. Yang, X. Zhang, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 444 (2005) 1-6]. The results indicated that the PMCA from porcine erythrocytes responded to gangliosides was different from that from synaptosomes, suggesting that the effects of gangliosides on the PMCA are isoform specific. Most interestingly, GM2 activated the PMCA from porcine erythrocytes at lower concentrations, but inhibited it at higher concentrations. In the present study, we found that GD1b, GM1 and GM3 did not affect the calpain digested PMCA from porcine erythrocytes or the intact enzyme in the presence of calmodulin, while GM2 inhibited it. Moreover, a synthetic peptide of 17 amino acid residues corresponding to the 'receptor' of the calmodulin-binding domain of the enzyme interfered with the inhibition of the enzyme by GM2 in competition assays. Taken together, our results suggested that gangliosides GD1b, GM1, GM2 (lower concentrations) and GM3 stimulated the PMCA by the interaction with calmodulin-binding domain, while the interaction of GM2 with the 'receptor' of the calmodulin-binding domain of the enzyme led to the inhibition of the enzyme.

Gangliosides activate the phosphatase activity of the erythrocyte plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase

The previous studies showed that gangliosides modulated the ATPase activity of the PMCA from porcine brain synaptosomes [Yongfang Zhao, Xiaoxuan Fan, Fuyu Yang, Xujia Zhang, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 427 (2004) 204-212]. The effects of gangliosides on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) catalyzed by the erythrocyte plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase, which was characterized as E(2) conformer of the enzyme, were studied. The results showed that pNPPase activity was stimulated up to seven-fold, depending upon the different gangliosides used with GD1b>GM1>GM2>GM3 approximately Asialo-GM1. Under the same conditions, the ATPase activity was also activated, suggesting that gangliosides should modify both E(1) and E(2) conformer of the enzyme. The Ca(2+), which drove the enzyme to E(1) conformation, inhibited the pNPPase activity, but with the similar half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) in the presence and the absence of gangliosides. Moreover, the pNPPase activity was also inhibited by the raise in ATP concentrations. Gangliosides caused a large increase in V(max), but had no effect on the apparent affinity (K(m)) of the enzyme for pNPP. The kinetic analysis indicated that gangliosides could modulate the erythrocyte PMCA through stabilizing E(2) conformer.

Gangliosides modulate the activity of the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase from porcine brain synaptosomes

We systematically examined the effects of gangliosides on the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase (PMCA) from porcine brain synaptosomes. Our results showed that GD1b (two sialic acid residues) stimulated the activity, GM1 (one sialic acid residue) slightly reduced the activity, while asialo-GM1 (no sialic acid residue) markedly inhibited it, suggesting that sialic acid residues of gangliosides are important in the modulation of the PMCA. We also examined the oligosaccharide effects by using GM1, GM2, and GM3 whose only difference was in the length of their oligosaccharide chain. GM1, GM2, and GM3 reduced the enzyme activities, whereas GM2 and GM3 were potent inhibitors. Gangliosides affect both affinity for Ca(2+) and the Vmax of enzyme. It was observed that GD1b and GM2 increased the affinity of the enzyme for Ca(2+). GD1b, GM2 affected the Vmax with an increase of GD1b, but decreases of GM2. The study of the affinity for ATP and the Vmax of enzyme in the presence of gangliosides showed that GD1b and GM2 had little effect on the ATP binding to the enzyme, but the Vmax was apparently changed. Moreover, the effects of gangliosides are additive to that of calmodulin, suggesting that the modulation of PMCA by gangliosides should be through a different mechanism. The conformational changes induced by gangliosides were probed by fluorescence quenching. We found that fluorescent quenchers (I(-) and Cs(+)) with opposite charges had different accessibility to the IAEDANS binding to the PMCA in the presence of gangliosides. An apparent red shift (25nm) with increased maximum of fluorescence spectrum was also observed in the presence of GD1b.

Glucosylceramide and glucosylsphingosine modulate calcium mobilization from brain microsomes via different mechanisms

We recently demonstrated that elevation of intracellular glucosylceramide (GlcCer) levels results in increased functional Ca2+ stores in cultured neurons, and suggested that this may be due to modulation of ryanodine receptors (RyaRs) by GlcCer (Korkotian, E., Schwarz, A., Pelled, D., Schwarzmann, G., Segal, M. and Futerman, A. H. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 21673-21678). We now systematically examine the effects of exogenously added GlcCer, other glycosphingolipids (GSLs) and their lyso-derivatives on Ca2+ release from rat brain microsomes. GlcCer had no direct effect on Ca2+ release, but rather augmented agonist-stimulated Ca2+ release via RyaRs, through a mechanism that may involve the redox sensor of the RyaR, but had no effect on Ca2+ release via inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors. Other GSLs and sphingolipids, including galactosylceramide, lactosylceramide, ceramide, sphingomyelin, sphingosine 1-phosphate, sphinganine 1-phosphate, and sphingosylphosphorylcholine had no effect on Ca2+ mobilization from rat brain microsomes, but both galactosylsphingosine (psychosine) and glucosylsphingosine stimulated Ca2+ release, although only galactosylsphingosine mediated Ca2+ release via the RyaR. Finally, we demonstrated that GlcCer levels were approximately 10-fold higher in microsomes prepared from the temporal lobe of a type 2 Gaucher disease patient compared with a control, and Ca2+ release via the RyaR was significantly elevated, which may be of relevance for explaining the pathophysiology of neuronopathic forms of Gaucher disease.

Ganglioside function in calcium homeostasis and signaling

Ganglioside function in eukaryotic cells encompasses a variety of modulatory interactions related to both development and mature cellular behavior. In relation to the nervous system this includes induction of neurite outgrowth and trophic/neuroprotective phenomena; more generally this applies to ganglioside effects on receptor function, adhesion reactions, and signal transduction mechanisms in neural and extraneural systems. Underlying many of these trophic effects are ganglioside-induced changes in cellular calcium, accomplished through modulation of Ca2+ influx channels, Ca2+ exchange proteins, and various Ca2+-dependent enzymes that are altered through association with gangliosides. A clear distinction needs to be drawn between intrinsic functions of gangliosides as naturally expressed by the cell and activities created by application of exogenous ganglioside(s) that may or may not reflect natural function. This review attempts to summarize findings in this area and point to possible future directions of research.