Synthesis of Lipid-Linked Oligosaccharides (LLOs) and Their Phosphonate Analogues as Probes To Study Protein Glycosylation Enzymes

Structural and mechanistic studies of the N-glycosylation machinery: from lipid-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis to glycan transfer

N-linked protein glycosylation is a post-translational modification that exists in all domains of life. It involves two consecutive steps: (i) biosynthesis of a lipid-linked oligosaccharide (LLO), and (ii) glycan transfer from the LLO to asparagine residues in secretory proteins, which is catalyzed by the integral membrane enzyme oligosaccharyltransferase (OST). In the last decade, structural and functional studies of the N-glycosylation machinery have increased our mechanistic understanding of the pathway. The structures of bacterial and eukaryotic glycosyltransferases involved in LLO elongation provided an insight into the mechanism of LLO biosynthesis, whereas structures of OST enzymes revealed the molecular basis of sequon recognition and catalysis. In this review, we will discuss approaches used and insight obtained from these studies with a special emphasis on the design and preparation of substrate analogs.

Cell-free N-glycosylation of peptides using synthetic lipid-linked hybrid and complex N-glycans

Cell-free, chemoenzymatic platforms are emerging technologies towards generating glycoconjugates with defined and homogeneous glycoforms. Recombinant oligosaccharyltransferases can be applied to glycosylate "empty," i.e., aglycosyalted, peptides and proteins. While bacterial oligosaccharlytransferases have been extensively investigated, only recently a recombinant eukaryotic single-subunit oligosaccharyltransferase has been successfully used to in vitro N-glycosylate peptides. However, its applicability towards synthesizing full-length glycoproteins and utilizing glycans beyond mannose-type glycans for the transfer have not be determined. Here, we show for the first time the synthesis of hybrid- and complex-type glycans using synthetic lipid carriers as substrates for in vitro N-glycosylation reactions. For this purpose, transmembrane-deleted human β-1,2 N-acetylglucosamintransferase I and II (MGAT1ΔTM and MGAT2ΔTM) and β-1,4-galactosyltransferase (GalTΔTM) have been expressed in Escherichia coli and used to extend an existing multi-enzyme cascade. Both hybrid and agalactosylated complex structures were transferred to the N-glycosylation consensus sequence of peptides (10 amino acids: G-S-D-A-N-Y-T-Y-T-Q) by the recombinant oligosaccharyltransferase STT3A from Trypanosoma brucei.

Emerging structural insights into C-type glycosyltransferases

Glycosyltransferases of the C superfamily (GT-Cs) are enzymes found in all domains of life. They catalyse the stepwise synthesis of oligosaccharides or the transfer of assembled glycans from lipid-linked donor substrates to acceptor proteins. The processes mediated by GT-Cs are required for C-, N- and O-linked glycosylation, all of which are essential post-translational modifications in higher-order eukaryotes. Until recently, GT-Cs were thought to share a conserved structural module of 7 transmembrane helices; however, recently determined GT-C structures revealed novel folds. Here we analyse the growing diversity of GT-C folds and discuss the emergence of two subclasses, termed GT-C_A and GT-C_B. Further substrate-bound structures are needed to facilitate a molecular understanding of glycan recognition and catalysis in these two subclasses.

Alg mannosyltransferases: From functional and structural analyses to the lipid-linked oligosaccharide pathway reconstitution

BACKGROUND

N-glycosylation is initiated from the biosynthesis of lipid-linked oligosaccharide (LLO) on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is catalyzed by a series of Alg (asparagine-linked glycosylation) proteins.

SCOPE OF REVIEW

This review summarizes our recent studies on the enzymology of Alg mannosyltransferases (MTases). We also discuss the membrane topology and physiological importance of several ER cytosolic Alg proteins.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

Utilizing an efficient prokaryotic protein expression system and a new LC-MS quantitative activity assay, we overexpressed all Alg MTases and performed enzymology studies. Moreover, by reconstituting the LLO pathway, the high-yield chemoenzymatic synthesis of high-mannose-type N-glycans was accomplished using recombinant Alg MTases.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

The analysis of the enzymology and topology of Alg MTases has provided valuable biochemical information in the LLO biosynthesis pathway. In addition, an efficient chemoenzymatic strategy that could prepare various oligomannose-type N-glycans in sufficient amounts was established for further biological assays.

Enzymatic Synthesis of Glycans and Glycoconjugates

Glycoconjugates have great potential to improve human health in a multitude of different ways and fields. Prominent examples are human milk oligosaccharides and glycosaminoglycans. The typical choice for the production of homogeneous glycoconjugates is enzymatic synthesis. Through the availability of expression and purification protocols, recombinant Leloir glycosyltransferases are widely applied as catalysts for the synthesis of a wide range of glycoconjugates. Extensive utilization of these enzymes also depends on the availability of activated sugars as building blocks. Multi-enzyme cascades have proven a versatile technique to synthesize and in situ regenerate nucleotide sugar.In this chapter, the functions and mechanisms of Leloir glycosyltransferases are revisited, and the advantage of prokaryotic sources and production systems is discussed. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro pathways for the synthesis of nucleotide sugar are reviewed. In the second part, recent and prominent examples of the application of Leloir glycosyltransferase are given, i.e., the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans, glycoconjugate vaccines, and human milk oligosaccharides as well as the re-glycosylation of biopharmaceuticals, and the status of automated glycan assembly is revisited.

Transfer learning enables the molecular transformer to predict regio- and stereoselective reactions on carbohydrates

Organic synthesis methodology enables the synthesis of complex molecules and materials used in all fields of science and technology and represents a vast body of accumulated knowledge optimally suited for deep learning. While most organic reactions involve distinct functional groups and can readily be learned by deep learning models and chemists alike, regio- and stereoselective transformations are more challenging because their outcome also depends on functional group surroundings. Here, we challenge the Molecular Transformer model to predict reactions on carbohydrates where regio- and stereoselectivity are notoriously difficult to predict. We show that transfer learning of the general patent reaction model with a small set of carbohydrate reactions produces a specialized model returning predictions for carbohydrate reactions with remarkable accuracy. We validate these predictions experimentally with the synthesis of a lipid-linked oligosaccharide involving regioselective protections and stereoselective glycosylations. The transfer learning approach should be applicable to any reaction class of interest.

Recent Progress in Chemo-Enzymatic Methods for the Synthesis of N-Glycans

Asparagine (N)-linked glycosylation is one of the most common co- and post-translational modifications of both intra- and extracellularly distributing proteins, which directly affects their biological functions, such as protein folding, stability and intercellular traffic. Production of the structural well-defined homogeneous N-glycans contributes to comprehensive investigation of their biological roles and molecular basis. Among the various methods, chemo-enzymatic approach serves as an alternative to chemical synthesis, providing high stereoselectivity and economic efficiency. This review summarizes some recent advances in the chemo-enzymatic methods for the production of N-glycans, including the preparation of substrates and sugar donors, and the progress in the glycosyltransferases characterization which leads to the diversity of N-glycan synthesis. We discuss the bottle-neck and new opportunities in exploiting the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of N-glycans based on our research experiences. In addition, downstream applications of the constructed N-glycans, such as automation devices and homogeneous glycoproteins synthesis are also described.

Individual control of singlet lifetime and triplet yield in halogen-substituted coumarin derivatives

The photophysical properties of three 3-diethylphosphonocoumarin derivatives are studied by transient absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The measured lifetime of the first excited singlet state changes upon halogen substitution at the 6-position from 40 ps for the unsubstituted compound to 100 ps for Cl and 24 ps for Br. This observation is in clear contradiction with the estimated singlet–triplet quantum yield, which increases with atomic weight of the substituted atom and is usually referred as a heavy-atom effect. The DFT calculations give evidence that the main reason for this behavior is the different composition of the HOMO, while the LUMO is similar for all three compounds. The optical excitation leads to intramolecular charge transfer from the halogen lone pairs to the π* molecular orbital and thus to a significant change in the molecular dipole moment. Hence, the latter phenomenon in combination with the heavy-atom effect enables an independent control of singlet lifetime and singlet–triplet quantum yield in the studied 3-diethylphosphonocoumarin derivatives.

The photophysical properties of three 3-diethylphosphonocoumarin derivatives are studied by transient absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations.

Reconstitution of the lipid-linked oligosaccharide pathway for assembly of high-mannose N-glycans

The asparagine (N)-linked Man9GlcNAc2 is required for glycoprotein folding and secretion. Understanding how its structure contributes to these functions has been stymied by our inability to produce this glycan as a homogenous structure of sufficient quantities for study. Here, we report the high yield chemoenzymatic synthesis of Man9GlcNAc2 and its biosynthetic intermediates by reconstituting the eukaryotic lipid-linked oligosaccharide (LLO) pathway. Endoplasmic reticulum mannosyltransferases (MTases) are expressed in E. coli and used for mannosylation of the dolichol mimic, phytanyl pyrophosphate GlcNAc2. These recombinant MTases recognize unique substrates and when combined, synthesize end products that precisely mimic those in vivo, demonstrating that ordered assembly of LLO is due to the strict enzyme substrate specificity. Indeed, non-physiological glycans are produced only when the luminal MTases are challenged with cytosolic substrates. Reconstitution of the LLO pathway to synthesize Man9GlcNAc2 in vitro provides an important tool for functional studies of the N-linked glycoprotein biosynthesis pathway.

Attachment of the oligosaccharide Man9GlcNAc2 is required for glycoprotein folding and secretion but synthesizing this compound for structural and functional studies has remained challenging. Here, the authors achieve efficient Man9GlcNAc2 synthesis by reconstituting its biosynthetic pathway in vitro.