The specificity of sialytransferases using glycosylated lysozyme derivatives as substrates

Involvement of membrane galactose in the in vivo and in vitro sequestration of desialylated erythrocytes

The influence of terminal beta-galactose residues for the in vitro and in vivo sequestration of sialidase-treated erythrocytes by macrophages was investigated. Preincubation of rat peritoneal macrophages with galactose, oligosaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids with terminal beta-galactose residues inhibits both binding and phagocytosis of sialidase-treated erythrocytes by masking a beta-galactose-specific lectin on the macrophage cell membrane. These inhibition studies show that binding via demasked erythrocyte surface beta-galactosyl residues to this lectin is necessary for the subsequent phagocytosis step. According to these observations, repeated injections of lactose (30mM serum concentration) and asialo-fetuin (10-30 microM serum concentration) into the blood stream of rabbits led to a reduction of the rapid sequestration rate of sialidase-treated erythrocytes. Asialo-fetuin proved to be a much more potent inhibitor than lactose, in accordance with the in vitro experiments. This inhibition is reversible, as after the disappearance of the inhibitory effect, the sialidase-treated erythrocytes were again rapidly removed from the circulation to an extent similar to that of the experiments without inhibitors. No significant influence on binding and phagocytosis was measured in the presence of sialyllactose and native fetuin in vitro, or of native fetuin on sequestration in vivo. The experiments with rabbits show that a beta-galactosyl-specific lectin seems to be involved in the mechanism of sequestration of desialylated erythrocytes in vivo, as has been observed in vitro with rat peritoneal macrophages.

Phagocytosis of sialidase-treated rat erythrocytes: evidence for a two-step mechanism

Binding and phagocytosis of rat erythrocytes by liver and peritoneal macrophages were studied with a radioactive in vitro assay which yields quantitative data. Partial removal of sialic acids from the erythrocytes by Vibrio cholerae sialidase resulted in a marked increase of binding of the red cells by both liver and unstimulated peritoneal macrophages. Peritoneal macrophages stimulated by thioglycolate or starch, however, did not differentiate between control and desialylated erythrocytes. By inhibition experiments it was confirmed that rat peritoneal macrophages bind homologous sialidase-treated erythrocytes via a beta-D-galactose-specific lectin on the macrophage surface. While this attachment already occurs in buffer, serum was required for the subsequent phagocytosis. The possible involvement of factors of the complement system in the phagocytosis step was evidenced by a marked decrease of phagocytosis after heat inactivation of the serum. Based on these experiments, we propose a model of a two-step mechanism for the uptake of sialidase-treated erythrocytes by macrophages, comprising both the lectin and a receptor for serum components.