Partial purification and characterization of glycogen phosphorylase from Dictyostelium discoideum

Discovery and Biotechnological Exploitation of Glycoside-Phosphorylases

Among carbohydrate active enzymes, glycoside phosphorylases (GPs) are valuable catalysts for white biotechnologies, due to their exquisite capacity to efficiently re-modulate oligo- and poly-saccharides, without the need for costly activated sugars as substrates. The reversibility of the phosphorolysis reaction, indeed, makes them attractive tools for glycodiversification. However, discovery of new GP functions is hindered by the difficulty in identifying them in sequence databases, and, rather, relies on extensive and tedious biochemical characterization studies. Nevertheless, recent advances in automated tools have led to major improvements in GP mining, activity predictions, and functional screening. Implementation of GPs into innovative in vitro and in cellulo bioproduction strategies has also made substantial advances. Herein, we propose to discuss the latest developments in the strategies employed to efficiently discover GPs and make the best use of their exceptional catalytic properties for glycoside bioproduction.

Acetylation negatively regulates glycogen phosphorylase by recruiting protein phosphatase 1

Glycogen phosphorylase (GP) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in glycogen catabolism and plays a key role in maintaining cellular and organismal glucose homeostasis. GP is the first protein whose function was discovered to be regulated by reversible protein phosphorylation, which is controlled by phosphorylase kinase (PhK) and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). Here we report that lysine acetylation negatively regulates GP activity by both inhibiting enzyme activity directly and promoting dephosphorylation. Acetylation of GP Lys(470) enhances its interaction with the PP1 substrate-targeting subunit, G(L), and PP1, thereby promoting GP dephosphorylation and inactivation. We show that GP acetylation is stimulated by glucose and insulin and inhibited by glucagon. Our results provide molecular insights into the intricate regulation of the classical GP and a functional crosstalk between protein acetylation and phosphorylation.

Exposure of cells to a cell number-counting factor decreases the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase to decrease intracellular glucose levels in Dictyostelium discoideum

The development of Dictyostelium discoideum is a model for tissue size regulation, as these cells form groups of approximately 2 x 10(4) cells. The group size is regulated in part by a negative feedback pathway mediated by a secreted multipolypeptide complex called counting factor (CF). CF signal transduction involves decreasing intracellular CF glucose levels. A component of CF, countin, has the bioactivity of the entire CF complex, and an 8-min exposure of cells to recombinant countin decreases intracellular glucose levels. To understand how CF regulates intracellular glucose, we examined the effect of CF on enzymes involved in glucose metabolism. Exposure of cells to CF has little effect on amylase or glycogen phosphorylase, enzymes involved in glucose production from glycogen. Glucokinase activity (the first specific step of glycolysis) is inhibited by high levels of CF but is not affected by an 8-min exposure to countin. The second enzyme specific for glycolysis, phosphofructokinase, is not regulated by CF. There are two corresponding enzymes in the gluconeogenesis pathway, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The first is not regulated by CF or countin, whereas glucose-6-phosphatase is regulated by both CF and an 8-min exposure to countin. The countin-induced changes in the Km and Vmax of glucose-6-phosphatase cause a decrease in glucose production that can account for the countin-induced decrease in intracellular glucose levels. It thus appears that part of the CF signal transduction pathway involves inhibiting the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase, decreasing intracellular glucose levels and affecting the levels of other metabolites, to regulate group size.

Regulation of the two forms of glycogen phosphorylase by cAMP and its analogs in Dictyostelium discoideum

We have recently reported the existence of two forms of glycogen phosphorylase (1,4-alpha-D-glucan: orthophosphate-alpha-glucosyltransferase; EC 2.4.1.1) in Dictyostelium discoideum. During development the activity of the glycogen phosphorylase b form decreased as the activity of the a form increased. The total phosphorylase activity remained constant. The physical and kinetic properties of the Dictyostelium enzyme were similar to those of the mammalian enzyme. In mammals, cAMP regulates the conversion of the two forms by a cAMP dependent protein kinase (cAMPdPK). We report here that if cAMP is added to a single cell suspension, the Dictyostelium phosphorylase activity becomes independent of 5'AMP and a 104 kd peptide appears. We also show the effect of several cAMP analogs on the phosphorylase activity in these single-cell suspensions. The cAMP analogs were selected on the basis of their affinities for the membrane-bound cAMP receptor or the cytoplasmic cAMPdPK. We found that relatively low levels, 100 microM, of cAMP or 2'd-cAMP added to aggregation-competent cells in shaking culture caused a loss of phosphorylase b activity and the appearance of phosphorylase a activity. The analog, 2'd-cAMP, has a high affinity for the cAMP receptor but a low affinity for the cAMPdPK. Two other analogs, Bt2-cAMP and 8-Br-cAMP, which have low affinities for the cAMP receptor but high affinities for the cAMPdPK, required high levels (500 microM) for 'b' to 'a' conversion. cDNAs to three cAMP-regulated genes--PL3, D11, and D3--were used as controls in the above experiments. In order to determine if intracellular levels of cAMP were involved in the regulation of phosphorylase activity, both the phosphorylase and the PL3, D11 and D3 mRNA levels were examined in cells suspended in a glucose/albumin mixture--a medium in which adenylate cyclase is inhibited. Under these conditions, neither gene regulation nor a change in the phosphorylase b to a activity occurred in response to added extra cellular cAMP. The results suggest that an intracellular increase in cAMP is involved in the regulation of the two forms of glycogen phosphorylase in Dictyostelium.

Glycogen phosphorylase 'b' in Dictyostelium: stability and endogenous phosphorylation

The slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum has two forms of the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase. The inactive phosphorylase 'b' form requires 5' AMP for activity and is present in early development. The active phosphorylase 'a' form is 5' AMP independent and occurs during later development. We here show that the 92 kd 'b' enzyme subunit exists either as a singlet or a doublet upon SDS-PAGE, depending on the method of sample extraction. In the presence of exogenously added Mn2+ and ATP, the phosphorylase 'b' shows apparent conversion into a 5' AMP independent form as measured by enzyme activity. In addition, Mn2+ and ATP also support an in vitro phosphorylation of the 92 kd phosphorylase 'b' subunit. We also demonstrate phosphorylation of the 'b' enzyme subunit in vivo by 32-P incorporation into the enzyme protein. A protein kinase responsible for the observed in vitro phosphorylation of the phosphorylase 'b' subunit is characterized.

The relationship between the two forms of glycogen phosphorylase in Dictyostelium discoideum

The cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium disoideum, provides an ideal model system to study eukaryotic cell differentiation. In D. discoideum, glycogen degradation provides precursors for the synthesis of developmentally regulated structural products. The enzyme responsible for glycogen degradation, glycogen phosphorylase, exists in active and inactive forms. The active, or 'a' form, is independent of 5'adenosine monophosphate (5'AMP) while the inactive, or 'b' form, is 5'AMP-dependent. The activity of the 'b' form predominates early in development, while the activity of the 'a' form peaks in mid-late development; their combined specific activities remain constant at any point. Polyclonal antibodies raised to the purified forms of this enzyme showed low cross-reactivity. The anti-'a' serum reacted with a 104-kDa protein that was associated with phosphorylase 'a' activity; the anti-'b' serum reacted with a 92-kDa protein that was associated with phosphorylase 'b' activity and weakly cross-reacted with the 104-kDa protein. Immunoblots of peptide maps of the purified enzyme forms showed that each antibody was specific for the proteolytic fragments of its respective antigen. We also demonstrated in vitro phosphorylation of the 'b' form by an endogenous protein kinase. Cyclic AMP perturbation of intact cells caused induction of both phosphorylase-'a' activity and the 104-kDa protein. Immunotitration data suggested that the 'a' form accumulates due to de novo protein synthesis, although this result must be interpreted with caution.

Role of cyclic AMP and ammonia in induction and maintenance of post-aggregative differentiation in a suspension culture of Dictyostelium discoideum

The effects of ammonia and cAMP on prespore and prestalk differentiation of Dictyostelium discoideum were investigated by monitoring eight developmentally regulated proteins as differentiation markers under the shake culture conditions in glucose/albumin medium. In the medium containing cAMP, cells form small agglomerates and undergo prespore differentiation [19]. Under the conditions where agglomeration was prevented, ammonia induced four marker proteins out of eight tested in the presence of cAMP, which included not only a prespore specific enzyme but also cell-type non-specific proteins. No inhibitory effect of ammonia was observed in presumptive cell differentiation. These results suggest that ammonia is an inducer of differentiation at the protein level as well as the mRNA level as found previously [24]. The effects of cAMP were examined with special attention to the difference between induction of differentiation and maintenance of differentiated state in this specific medium. The induction of differentiation from early aggregative cells was cAMP-dependent with all the marker proteins tested. This agrees with the observations so far obtained in other culture systems. However, when already differentiated cell masses (slugs) were dissociated and shaken in this specific medium, only two enzymes required cAMP to maintain the activity while five out of eight kinds of the proteins continued to be expressed as in undisturbed slugs even without cAMP. This suggests that for the maintenance of the differentiated state after slug disaggregation cAMP may not be required with respect to the majority of proteins, if cells are provided with some favorable conditions such as glucose/albumin medium.

Identification of two forms of glycogen phosphorylase in Dictyostelium

It has been known for 20 years that during cellular differentiation of Dictyostelium discoideum, glycogen is degraded to provide the glucose precursors that are required for the synthesis of the end-products of development. Because this pathway provided a distinct developmentally regulated event, a number of laboratories have investigated the regulation of the first step in glycogen degradation, glycogen phosphorylase. Of particular interest was the possible regulation of this enzyme by cAMP. Cyclic AMP is know to act as a signal in this organism for both chemotaxis and cell differentiation. The phosphorylase activity was found to increase during development and, therefore, it has been used in many studies as a marker for late stage development. However, only one form of the phosphorylase was found, and therefore it was concluded that cAMP was not involved in regulation of this key step in the developmental pathway. Here we report the discovery of a second form of the enzyme. This form is completely dependent on AMP for activity and is found only in the undifferentiated stage. This second form contains several of the properties of the nonphosphorylated enzyme that occurs in systems that are regulated by cAMP. This result and the recent discovery of a cAMP-dependent protein kinase has rekindled the possibility that at least one of the effects of cAMP in this organism occurs via a cAMP-dependent cascade of phosphorylation; that is, the activation of glycogen phosphorylase and subsequent production of the precursors for the end-products of development.

Acquisition process of differentiation competence in Dictyostelium discoideum

It was previously shown [K. Okamoto, J. Gen. Microbiol. 127, 301 (1981)] that Dictyostelium discoideum cells dissociated from early aggregates, but not aggregation competent cells obtained in a suspension culture, undergo prespore differentiation, when transferred into a medium containing glucose, albumin, and cAMP. Therefore, the former, but not the latter, is considered to have been acquired "differentiation competence." In the present work, the requirements for cells to acquire the differentiation competence are investigated with D. discoideum NC4 strain. On solid substratum, the incubation above a threshold density is absolutely required for this process, while cell aggregation itself is not essential. In suspension cultures, the competence is acquired only under hypertonic conditions. Inhibition of protein synthesis or depletion of cAMP does not affect the acquisition process of the competence. The requirement of hypertonic treatment was also investigated with several other D. discoideum strains.

1,4-alpha-Glucan phosphorylase from the slime mold Physarum polycephalum. Purification, physico-chemical and kinetic properties

Glycogen phosphorylase from macroplasmodia of Physarum polycephalum was purified 76-fold to homogeneity. The native enzyme migrated as a single protein band on analytical disc gel electrophoresis coinciding with phosphorylase activity. After reduction in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate one protein band was detectable which corresponded to an Mr of 93 000. The molecular weight of the native enzyme determined by gel sieving or gradient-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was 172000 and 186000, respectively. The enzyme contained about 1 mol pyridoxal 5'-phosphate and less than 0.1 mol covalently bound phosphate per mol subunit. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined. In the direction of phosphorolysis the kinetic data were determined by initial velocity studies, assuming a rapid equilibrium random mechanism. Glucose 1-phosphate and GDP-glucose were competitive inhibitors toward phosphate and noncompetitive to glycogen. 5'-AMP, a weak activator of the enzyme, counteracted the glucose-1-phosphate inhibition completely. Physarum phosphorylase was compared with phosphorylases from other sources on the basis of chemical and kinetic properties. No evidence for the presence of phosphorylated forms has yet been found.

Glycogen phosphorylase from Neurospora crassa: purification of a high-specific-activity, non-phosphorylated form

A highly active glycogen phosphorylase was purified from Neurospora crassa by polyethylene glycol fractionation at pH 6.16 combined with standard techniques (chromatography and salt fractionation). The final preparation had a specific activity of 65 +/- 5 U/mg of protein (synthetic direction, pH 6.1, 30 degrees C) and was homogeneous by the criteria of gel electrophoresis, amino-terminal analysis, gel filtration, and double immunodiffusion in two dimensions. The enzyme had a native molecular weight of 180,000 +/- 10,000 (by calibrated gel filtration and gel electrophoresis) and a subunit molecular weight of 90,000 +/- 5,000 (by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). Each subunit contained one molecule of pyridoxal phosphate. No phosphoserine or phosphothreonine was detected by amino acid analysis optimized for phosphoamino acid detection. The enzyme isolated from cells grown on high-specific-activity 32Pi (as sole source of phosphorus) contained one atom of 32P per subunit. All the radioactivity was removed by procedures that removed pyridoxal phosphate. Thus, the enzyme could not be classified as an a type (phosphorylated, active in the absence of a cofactor) or as a b type (non-phosphorylated, inactive in the absence of a cofactor). The level of phosphorylase was markedly increased in mycelium taken from older cultures in which the carbon source (glucose or sucrose) had been depleted. The polyethylene glycol fractionation scheme applied at pH 7.5 to mycelial extracts of younger cultures (taken before depletion of the sugar) resulted in co-purification of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthetase.

Inhibition of potato starch phosphorylase by alpha-D-glucopyranose-1,2-cyclic phosphate

alpha-D-Glucopyranose-1.2-cyclic phosphate is a potent inhibitor of potato starch phosphorylase-catalyzed (1,4-alpha-D-glucan:orthophosphate alpha-glucosyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.1) starch elongation. The inhibition is competitive with respect to alpha-D-glucopyranose 1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) with Ki approximately 0.07 mM at pH 6.3 and 30 degrees C in 25 mM citrate buffer. The affinity of the phosphorylase - starch complex for the cyclic ester is therefore nearly 30 times as large as for Glc-1-P. Under conditions where alpha-D-glucopyranose-1,2-cyclic phosphate slows starch elongation by a factor of 3, UDPglucose, ADPglucose, D-glucose 6-phosphate, and D-glucose 2-phosphate cause rate reductions of less than 10%. The origin of the relatively strong binding of the cyclic ester to the phosphorylase, and its possible biological significance are discussed.

Glycogen degradation during migration of presumptive cell types in Dictyostelium discoideum

During the time course of differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum, glycogen was found to accumulate from the amoebae stage to the culmination stage of development. Upon sorocarp formation (23 h), glycogen was rapidly degraded. Ultramicrotechniques, utilizing amplification of glycogen by enzymatic cycling, were used to follow glycogen metabolism in pre-stalk and prespore cells during the differentiation cycle. Both cell types accumulated glycogen at nearly the same rate. By the pseudoplasmodium stage of development glycogen had accumulated to 50% of its maximum value, and no differences were found between pre-stalk and pre-spore cells. Glycogen was degraded as pre-stalk cells migrated into the position for stalk construction. At the culmination stage of development stalk cells near the base were devoid of glycogen while pre-stalk cells near the apex of the stalk showed no loss of glycogen. The complete loss of glycogen from stalk cells occurred over a distance occupied by approximately 100 cells, and over a time period of approx. 1 h. Pre-spore cells at the culmination stage showed no loss of glycogen even though separated from stalk cells by only a thin cellulose sheath. The degradation of prespore cell glycogen did not commence until stalk construction was completed and the pre-spore mass had reached the apex of the stalk. Pre-spore cells at the culmination stage contained high levels of glycogen while only 2 h later, total degradation had occurred.

Localization of glycogen synthetase during differentiation of presumptive cell types in Dictyostelium discoideum

Ultramicrochemical techniques were utilized to assay glycogen synthetase (EC 2.4.1.11) activity in cell samples of Dictyostelium discoideum as small as 0.01 mug (dry weight) in reaction volumes of 0.1 mul. The activity was assayed by an amplification procedure employing the enzymatic cycling of pyridine nucleotides. These techniques were used to determine the extent of localization of glycogen synthetase in the two cell types during differentiation of D. discoideum. Localization studies in developing spore cells revealed decreasing enzyme activity to the culmination stage. During this phase of development, the enzyme required the presence of soluble glycogen for activity. From culmination to sorocarp stage, enzyme activity increased and was independent of the soluble glycogen. In developing stalk cells, synthetase showed a decreasing gradient of activity. In sorocarps, the cells in the stalk apex showed synthetase activity similar to that of the spores. The cells at the bottom of the stalk had no detectable activity.

Inhibition of development in Dictyostelium discoideum by sugars

Sugars such as glucose, maltose, and trehalose, which are metabolized by Dictyostelium discoideum and which enhance vegetative growth, inhibit the development of the slime mold at concentrations which stimulate growth maximally. They block the acquisition of aggregation competence as well as aggregation. The same sugars also inhibit the degradation of preformed glycogen ribonucleic acid, and protein, which is characteristic of development and which occurs when the amoebas are starved by incubation in dilute phosphate buffer.

Biochmical aspects of contact lens wear

Glycogen, adenosine triphosphate, and hydration were measured in rabbit corneal epithelium to determine whether the corneal epithelium glycogen decrease, increase in epithelial hydration, and decrease in epithelial adenosine triphosphate stores, seen as a result of contact lens wear, were secondary only to anoxia or may also have resulted from mild trauma, with no interference to oxygenation. Conventional contact lens wear, trauma, and oxygen-permeable contact lens wear caused metabolic changes, showing trauma as well as anoxia may play an important role in the corneal epithelial response to contact lens wear.

The metabolism of macromolecules during the differentiation of Myxamoebae of the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum containing different amounts of glycogen

1. Methods of obtaining myxamoebae of Dictyostelium discoideum strain Ax-2 (ATCC 24397) with glycogen contents in the range 0.05-5mg of glycogen/10(8) cells are described. The changes in cellular glycogen, protein and RNA content during the differentiation of such myxamoebae were determined. 2. Myxamoebal glycogen is not conserved during differentiation and gluconeogenesis may occur even in cells that contain a large amount of glycogen initially. 3. There is a marked net loss of cellular protein and RNA during differentiation and associated with this there are also marked decreases in the sizes of the intracellular pools of amino acids, acid-soluble proteins and pentose-containing materials. 4. During the early stages of development some protein and pentose(s) are excreted, but this cannot account for the decreased cellular content of protein and RNA. 5. There is a linear rate of production of NH(3) during development, and oxidation appears to be the fate of the major portion of the degraded protein and RNA. 6. However, provision of an alternative metabolizable energy source (glycogen) has little effect on the rate or extent of protein or RNA breakdown or on the changes in the sizes of the intracellular pools of amino acids, acid-soluble proteins and pentose-containing materials. 7. It is concluded that during development there is a requirement for the destruction of specific RNA and protein molecules for reasons other than the provision of oxidizable substrates. 8. The kinetic model of Wright et al. (1968) is discussed in relation to these changes in macromolecular content.

Effects of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and adenosine 5'-monophosphate on glycogen degradation and synthesis in Dictyostelium discoideum

Data are presented demonstrating that the presence in vivo of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (3',5'-AMP) causes a rapid depletion of glycogen storage material in the cellular slime mold. The effect of adenosine 5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP) is twofold, stimulating both glycogen degradation and synthesis. In pseudoplasmodia, cell-free extracts appear to contain at least two species of glycogen phosphorylase, one of which is severely inhibited by glucose-1-phosphate and another which is only partially inhibited by this hexose-phosphate. In some cases, 5'-AMP partially overcomes the inhibition by glucose-1-phosphate. Data presented here also indicate the existence of two forms of glycogen synthetase, the total activity of which does not change during 10 hr of differentiation from aggregation to culmination. During this period there is a quantitative conversion of glucose-6-phosphate-independent enzyme activity to glucose-6-phosphate-dependent activity. It is suggested that one effect of 3',5'-AMP is closely related to enzymatic processes involved in the rapid conversion of glycogen to cell wall material and other end products accumulating during sorocarp construction.