Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Sandhoff”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 703 records · Page 39Linked to original sources

Lysosomal enzyme precursors in human fibroblasts. Activation of cathepsin D precursor in vitro and activity of beta-hexosaminidase A precursor towards ganglioside GM2.

Precursors of cathepsin D and beta-hexosaminidase were isolated from secretions of human fibroblasts and their activity was studied with natural substrates. The immunoprecipitated precursor of cathepsin D, Mr 53000, was inactive with radioactive hemoglobin as substrate. At pH 3.8-4.2 an activation of the precursor took place, which was correlated by a reduction in size to Mr 51500. The observed cleavage of cathepsin D precursor in vitro resembles the autocatalytic activation of pepsinogen. The precursor of beta-hexosaminidase A is able to cleave the natural substrate GM2 ganglioside. This reaction, like that of the mature enzyme, depends on the presence of a protein activator, which interacts with the substrate and the enzyme.

Cathepsin D↗

Model for the interaction of membrane-bound substrates and enzymes. Hydrolysis of ganglioside GD1a by sialidase of neuronal membranes isolated from calf brain.

Microsomes and synaptosomes isolated from calf brain contain a sialidase which cleaves ganglioside substrates. The hydrolysis of [3H]ganglioside GD1a by the membrane-bound enzyme has been studied under various conditions. The reaction rate decreased with increasing ionic strength in the incubation mixture, and was progressively enhanced by increasing concentrations of the primary alcohols n-pentanol to n-octanol. This stimulation correlates quantitatively with an increase in membrane 'fluidity' caused by these alcohols as measured by fluorescence depolarization employing 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene as probe. The dependence of the reaction rate on the amount of enzyme in the incubation mixture was linear only with water-soluble substrates but not with the lipophilic ganglioside substrate. Evidence is presented that lipophilic substrate and enzyme interact mainly within the plane of the membrane presumably by lateral diffusion. Taking this into consideration Michaelis-Menten theory was modified accordingly. As predicted, apparent Km values increased linearly with the amount of membrane-bound enzyme added and decreased with the concentration of n-hexanol in the incubation mixture. In the presence of varying n-hexanol concentrations the apparent Km-value decreased with increasing membrane 'fluidity', as measured by fluorescence depolarization of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene. On the other hand, as expected, V values were not affected by membrane 'fluidity' and increased linearly with the amount of membrane protein.

Alcohols↗

Complexing of glycolipids and their transfer between membranes by the activator protein for degradation of lysosomal ganglioside GM2.

The lysosomal degradation of ganglioside GM2 by hexosaminidase A depends on the presence of the specific activator protein which mediates the interaction between micellar or membrane-bound ganglioside and water-soluble hydrolase. The mechanism and the glycolipid specificity of this activator were studied in more detail. 1. It could be shown with three different techniques (isoelectric focusing, centrifugation and electrophoresis) that the activator protein extracts glycolipid monomers from micelles or liposomes to give water-soluble complexes with a stoichiometry of 1 mol of glycolipid/mol of activator protein. Liposome-bound ganglioside GM2 is considerably more stable against extraction and degradation than micellar ganglioside. 2. In the absence of enzyme the activator acts in vitro as glycolipid transfer protein, transporting glycolipids from donor to acceptor membranes. 3. The activator protein is rather specific for ganglioside GM2. Other glycolipids (GM3 GM1, GD1a and GA2) form less stable complexes with the activator and are transferred at a slower rate (except for ganglioside GM1) than ganglioside GM2.

Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel↗

Ganglioside biosynthesis in Golgi apparatus of rat liver. Stimulation by phosphatidylglycerol and inhibition by tunicamycin.

Golgi vesicles were isolated and purified from rat liver, in which the specific activities of glycosyltransferases (e.g. GM3:CMP-NeuAc sialyltransferase, GD3 synthase; GM3:UDP-GalNAc galactosaminyltransferase, GM2 synthase) were 50-60-times enriched relative to microsomes or total homogenate. Synthesis of gangliosides GM2 and GM1 in such Golgi vesicles is, in the absence of any detergents, stimulated 6-fold and 20-fold respectively by phosphatidylglycerol. Other phospholipids like phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine are also significantly stimulatory. With 50 micrograms Golgi protein and 1 nmol UDP-GalNAc, optimal stimulation of GM2 synthase was obtained with 20 micrograms of phosphatidylglycerol and 7.5 nmol of the lipid acceptor GM3. Under the same experimental conditions this stimulation exceeds (by about 40%) that obtained with optimal amount (200 micrograms) of the detergent octylglucoside. Phosphatidylglycerol, on the other hand, has virtually no stimulatory activity on the synthesis of ganglioside GD3 either in the presence of Mg2+ or Mn2+, indicating that facilitation by phospholipid of GM3 transport into Golgi vesicles was not the basis of stimulation of GM2 synthesis. Tunicamycin inhibits the synthesis of gangliosides GM2 and GM1 in isolated Golgi vesicles, but only in the absence of detergents. In the presence of phosphatidylglycerol, GM2 synthesis, for example, was inhibited by 60% by 2 micrograms tunicamycin and more than 85% by 10 micrograms tunicamycin, per 50 micrograms Golgi membrane protein. The inhibition was stronger on GM1 synthesis: 85% with 2.5 micrograms of the antibiotic. The dependence on phosphatidylglycerol and the degree of inhibition by tunicamycin of the synthetic activities are strictly dependent on the intactness of the Golgi vesicles: both phenomena become increasingly less evident when the vesicles are pelleted, and frozen and thawed several times, and completely disappear when the vesicles are solubilized by detergents or disrupted by ultrasonication. Furthermore, tunicamycin inhibition is reversible by increased concentration of phosphatidylglycerol. All these results indicate that phosphatidylglycerol does not stimulate, and tunicamycin does not inhibit, the transferases themselves; rather, the two opposing effects might relate to carrier-mediated transport, e.g. of nucleotide sugars, across Golgi vesicles.

Animals↗

Direct evidence by carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy for the erythro configuration of the sphingoid moiety in Gaucher cerebroside and other natural sphingolipids.

By comparison of carbon-13 NMR data from Gaucher cerebroside and from other natural sphingolipids with those from synthetic L-threo-ceramide, D-glucosyl-L-threo-ceramide, D-erythro-ceramide and D-glucosyl-D-erythro-ceramide, we have been able to obtain directly, for the first time, unequivocal evidence for the erythro configuration of the sphingosine moiety in natural sphingolipids. Gaucher cerebroside gave the same data as D-glucosyl-D-erythro-ceramide. In contrast, significant shift differences have been observed for sphingosine C-3 (1.9 ppm) and C-4 (1.2 ppm) when comparing the spectral data of Gaucher cerebroside with those of D-glucosyl-L-threo-ceramide. Similar differences have also been found between the carbon-13 NMR data of synthetic D-erythro-ceramide and those of L-threo-ceramide. In addition, we have observed that threo-sphingosine C-5 and C-4 of ceramide and D-glucosyl-ceramide resonate near 129.5 ppm and 133.5 ppm, respectively, with a signal separation of about 4 ppm. On the other hand, these signals from the spectra of synthetic D-erythro-ceramide and D-glucosyl-D-erythro-ceramide as well as from those of gangliosides, lactosyl-ceramide, galactosyl-ceramide and sphingomyelin are found near 130 ppm and 135 ppm, respectively, thus being apart by about 5 ppm, irrespective of the degree of glycosylation of the ceramide portion. Thus, by carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy the erythro configuration of the sphingoid base in natural sphingolipids is directly demonstrated.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗

Incorporation and metabolism of ganglioside GM2 in skin fibroblasts from normal and GM2 gangliosidosis subjects.

Ganglioside GM2, 3H-labeled in the sphingoid base, was added to the culture medium of normal and GM2 gangliosidosis fibroblasts. Ganglioside was found to adsorb rapidly to the cell surface, most of it could however be removed by trypsination. The trypsin-resistant incorporation was about 10 nmol/mg cell protein, after 48 h. The rates of adsorption and incorporation depended strongly on the concentration of fetal calf serum in the medium, higher serum concentrations being inhibitory. After various incubation times, the lipids were extracted, separated by thin-layer chromatography and visualized by fluorography. In normal cells a variety of degradation products as well as sphingomyelin was found whereas in GM2 gangliosidosis cells, only trace amounts of such products (mainly GA2) were found. In contrast, the higher gangliosides GM1 and GD1a were formed in comparable amounts (2.2-3.6% of total radioactivity after 92 h) in normal and pathologic cell lines. Supplementation of cells from GM2 gangliosidosis, variant AB, with purified GM2-activator protein restored ganglioside GM2 degradation to almost normal rates but had no effect on its glycosylation to gangliosides GM1 and GD1a. From these results we conclude that the synthesis of higher gangliosides from incorporated GM2 can occur by direct glycosylation and not only via lysosomal degradation and resynthesis from [3H]sphinganine-containing degradation products. Preliminary studies with subcellular fractionation after various times of [3H]ganglioside incorporation indicated biphasic kinetics for the net transport of membrane-inserted ganglioside to lysosomes, compatible with the notion that a portion of the glycolipids can also escape from secondary lysosomes and migrate to Golgi compartment or cell surface.

Animals↗

The influence of ganglioside insertion into brain membranes on the rate of ganglioside degradation by membrane-bound sialidase.

Microsomal membranes isolated from calf brain contain a sialidase which cleaves ganglioside substrates naturally occurring within these membranes as well as exogenously added [3H]ganglioside GD1a. Micelles of [3H]ganglioside GD1a bind to the microsomal membranes in two steps. The first step, called adsorption, is fast and reversible by treatment with trypsin; the second step, called uptake, is slower and not reversible. The product of the enzymic degradation, [3H]ganglioside GM1, is exclusively located in the ganglioside pool taken up by the sialidase-bearing membranes, and not in the trypsin-releasable pool. Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies using a spin-labelled analogue of ganglioside GD1a indicate that the ganglioside uptake by microsomal membranes is accompanied by the disappearance of the micellar structure and by the 'dilution' of the probe molecules with membrane lipids. These findings suggest that exogenously added ganglioside substrate inserts into the microsomal membrane before it is recognized as substrate by the membrane-bound sialidase. Therefore, the influence of pH, ionic strength and membrane-fluidizing agents on the degradation rate measured with exogenous ganglioside GD1a does not only reflect kinetic parameters of the enzymic reaction itself but also the velocity of ganglioside insertion. Increasing ionic strength reduces the degradation rate. The acceleration of insertion with falling pH values shifts the measured pH optimum of the ganglioside degradation to lower values (pH 3.6) and masks the substantial residual sialidase activity at pH 5-7. The membrane-fluidizing alcohol n-hexanol greatly accelerates ganglioside insertion as well as ganglioside degradation. The latter was clearly demonstrated by studying the hydrolysis of endogenous ganglioside substrates, and is due to a decrease of the apparent Km value and an increase in the Vmax value. The Vmax value was also enhanced by freezing and thawing of the microsomal membranes.

Animals↗

Specificity of human glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase towards synthetic glucosylsphingolipids inserted into liposomes. Kinetic studies in a detergent-free assay system.

The behaviour of highly purified glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase (glucosylceramidase, EC 3.2.1.45) from human placenta [Furbish, F. S., Blair, H. E., Shiloach, J., Pentchev, P. G. & Brady, R. B. (1977) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 74, 3560-3563] was investigated in the absence of detergents with structurally modified glucosylceramides inserted into unilamellar liposomes. The reaction between the water-soluble enzyme and the liposomal substrates was significantly dependent on the structure of the lipophilic aglycon moiety of glycolipids: glucosyl-N-acetyl-sphingosines (D-erythro and L-threo) were better substrates than the corresponding glucosylceramides. The L-threo derivatives were poorer substrates with higher apparent Km values than the corresponding D-erythro derivatives. For glucosyl-3-keto-ceramide and glucosyl-dihydro-ceramide (D-erythro), higher Km values were found than for glucosylceramide. Sphingosine, glucosylsphingosine and glucosyl-N-acetyl-sphingosine were the most effective inhibitors of the hydrolysis of glucosylceramide. D-erythro-Ceramide and D-galactosyl-N-acetyl-D-erythro-sphingosine inhibited the hydrolysis of amphiphilic glucosylceramide but not that of water-soluble 4-methyl-umbelliferyl-beta-glucoside, suggesting a hydrophobic binding site of the enzyme for the aglycon moiety of its membrane-bound substrate. Dilution experiments suggested that at least a fraction of the enzyme associates with the liposomes and degrades the lipid substrate even in the absence of activator proteins. Acidic phospholipids incorporated into liposomes caused a powerful stimulation (30-40-fold) of the glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase, whereas acidic sphingolipids (sulphatide, gangliosides GM1 and GD1a) incorporated into liposomes stimulated this enzyme only moderately (3-10-fold).

Cerebrosides↗

Substrate specificity of GM2 and GD3 synthase of Golgi vesicles derived from rat liver.

Several GM3 derivatives have been synthesized. Among them were lyso-GM3 derivatives and GM3 analogues with modifications in the sialic acid moiety. They were used as glycolipid acceptors in assays for GM2 and GD3 synthase of rat liver Golgi. Analysis of the resulting enzyme activities and of the reaction products revealed different substrate specificities for GM2 and GD3 synthase although the normal glycolipid acceptor for both transferases is ganglioside GM3. Specificity of GD3 synthase is strongly determined by the substrate's negative charge and the acyl residue in amide bond to the amino group of neuraminic acid, while GM2 synthase reacts quite indifferently to these changes in the sialic moiety of the substrate. Both enzymes seem to be sensitive to the spatial extension at the neuraminic acid's carboxylic group.

Animals↗

The complete amino-acid sequences of human ganglioside GM2 activator protein and cerebroside sulfate activator protein.

The complete amino-acid sequences of human ganglioside GM2 activator protein and cerebroside sulfate activator protein have been established by Edman degradation. The GM2 activator is composed of 162 amino acids, the first two serine residues being present in only 20% of the material. A single carbohydrate chain is N-glycosidically linked to Asn32. Three hydrophobic alpha-helices may contribute to its lipid-binding site. Three amino acids differ from those found by cDNA sequencing which may be due to a polymorphism. The cerebroside sulfate activator consists of 80 amino acids and carries one N-linked carbohydrate chain at Asn21. The C-terminal valine residue is lacking in about 80% of the material. In spite their similar functions, both activator proteins show no sequence or structural similarities.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Substrate specificity of alpha 2----3-sialyltransferases in ganglioside biosynthesis of rat liver golgi.

The acceptor specificities of four sialytransferases (I, II, IV and V) involved in ganglioside biosynthesis were studied in Golgi vesicles derived from rat liver. The activities of these sialytransferases were strongly detergent-dependent. Competition experiments with different detergent concentrations using LacCer (Gal beta 1----4Glc beta 1----1Cer), GM1a [Gal beta 1----3GalNAc beta 1----4(NeuAc alpha 2----3)Gal beta 1----4Glc beta 1----1Cer] and GD1b [Gal beta 1----3GalNAc beta 1----4(NeuAc alpha 2----8NeuAc alpha 2----3)Gal beta 1----4Glc beta 1----1Cer] as substrates, and as mutual inhibitors for ganglioside sialyltransferase activity, suggested that sialyltransferase IV was able to catalyze the sialyltransfer in alpha 2----3 linkage to the galactose residues of LacCer as well as of GM1a and GD1b. The other three sialyltransferases (I, II and V) seemed to be quite specific for their respective glycolipid acceptors, LacCer, GM3 and GM1b, GD1a and GT1b. Furthermore the kinetic data showed that sialyltransferase I was inactive at higher detergent concentrations (greater than 75 micrograms Triton CF-54); under these conditions, formation of GM3 and GD1a was catalyzed only by sialyltransferase IV. These results have been integrated into a model for ganglioside biosynthesis and its regulation.

Animals↗

Sphingolipid biosynthesis in cultured neurons. Down-regulation of serine palmitoyltransferase by sphingoid bases.

Addition of exogenous sphingosine homologues (D-erythro configuration) with different alkyl chain lengths (12 and 18 carbon atoms) to the medium of primary cultured cerebellar cells resulted in a decrease of serine palmitoyltransferase activity in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. This enzyme catalyzes the first committed step in sphingolipid biosynthesis. Half-maximal reduction of enzyme activity occurred after a 4-h treatment with 25 microM sphingoid bases. Maximal decrease (approx. 80%) was obtained after treating the cells for 4-8 h with 50 microM long-chain bases. When a biosynthetically inert sphingoid, azidosphingosine (10-50 microM), was fed to the cells, decrease of 3-ketosphinganine formation was much slower, reaching its maximum (approx. 80%) after 24 h. In contrast to D-erythro-sphingosine, L-threo-C18-sphingosine did not yield any decrease of serine palmitoyltransferase activity when added to the cells under identical experimental conditions. Decrease of serine palmitoyltransferase activity was fully reversible after removal of the long-chain bases from the culture medium. Activities of other enzymes of lipid metabolism, ceramide synthase, long-chain acyl-CoA synthase and choline phosphotransferase, were not affected by the addition of sphingoid bases, indicating that the down regulation of serine palmitoyltransferase is quite specific.

Acyltransferases↗

Glycosphingolipid specificity of the human sulfatide activator protein.

The interaction of the sulfatide activator protein with different glycosphingolipids have been studied in detail. The following findings were made. 1. The sulfatide activator protein forms water-soluble complexes with sulfatides [Fischer, G. and Jatzkewitz, H. (1977) Hoppe-Seyler's Z. Physiol. Chem. 356, 6588-6591] and various other glycospingolipids. 2. In the absence of degrading enzymes the activator protein acts in vitro as a glycosphingolipid transfer protein, transporting glycosphingolipids from donor to acceptor liposomes. Lipids having less than three hexoses, e.g. galactosylceramide, sulfatide and ganglioside GM3 were transferred at very slow rates, whereas complex lipids such as gangliosides GM2, GM1 and GD1a were transferred much faster than the former. The transfer rate increased with increasing length of the carbohydrate chain of the lipid molecules. 3. Both the acyl residue in the ceramide moiety and the nature of the carbohydrate chain are significant for recognition of the glycosphingolipids by the sulfatide activator protein. Apparently, both residues serve as an anchor and the longer they are the better they are recognized by the protein. 4. In the absence of activator protein, degradation rates of sulfatide derivatives by arylsulfatase A, and of ganglioside GM1 derivatives by beta-galactosidase, increase with decreasing length of acyl residues in their hydrophobic ceramide moiety. Addition of activator protein stimulates the degradation of only those GM1 and sulfatide derivatives that have long-chain fatty acids in their hydrophobic ceramide anchor.

Ceramides↗

Inhibition of N-acetylglucosamine kinase and N-acetylmannosamine kinase by 3-O-methyl-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in vitro.

During the search for inhibitors of N-acetylneuraminic acid biosynthesis, it was shown that 3-O-methyl-N-acetylglucosamine competitively inhibits the N-acetylglucosamine kinase of rat liver in vitro with a Ki value of 17 microM. N-Acetylmannosamine kinase is inhibited non-competitively with a Ki value of 80 microM. In a human hepatoma cell line (HepG2), 3-O-methyl-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (1 mM) inhibits the incorporation of 14C-N-acetylglucosamine and 14C-N-acetylmannosamine into cellular glycoproteins by 88% and 70%, respectively.

Acetylglucosamine↗

Ganglioside binding proteins of calf brain with ubiquitin-like N-terminals.

Two ganglioside-associated protein components I and II have been isolated from crude ganglioside preparations of calf brain by DEAE-Sephadex ion-exchange chromatography. Both components exhibited binding capacity in aqueous media for gangliosides of the 'ganglio' series but not for neutral glycosphingolipids (polyglycosylceramides) and only a low capacity for sialosylparagloboside. Each protein bound individual gangliosides with different efficiency. Upon prolonged incubation of component I with gangliosides, complexes with high (30:1) and low (6:1) glycolipid/protein molar ratios were formed. The latter but not the former complex was able to penetrate Sephadex G-200 beads. Both components inhibited plating efficiency of cultured mouse N2a neuroblastoma cells. The molecular masses of components I and II were determined by SDS/PAGE to be 11-12 kDa and 28 kDa, respectively. Carbohydrates (fucose, mannose, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, and some sialic acid) were found only in component II. When examined by reverse-phase HPLC each component separated into two major closely migrating peaks which were subsequently examined by Edman degradation. Amino acid sequences of the N-terminal portions of three of these peaks (one peak from component I and both peaks from component II) showed, as far as the sequences were established, identity with the sequence of ubiquitin. It is hypothesized that the proteins may be instrumental in intracellular trafficking of gangliosides.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Functional characterization of the N-glycosylation sites of human acid sphingomyelinase by site-directed mutagenesis.

Most soluble lysosomal enzymes require a mannose-6-phosphate recognition marker present on asparagine-linked oligosaccharides for proper targeting to lysosomes. We have determined the influence of the six potential N-linked oligosaccharide chains of human acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) on catalytic activity, targeting, and processing of the enzyme. Each N-glycosylation site was modified by site-directed mutagenesis and subsequently expressed in COS-1 cells. Evidence is presented that five of these sites are used. Elimination of the four N-terminal glycosylation sites does not disturb lysosomal targeting, processing, or enzymatic activity. However, removal of the two C-terminal N-glycosylation sites inhibits the formation of mature enzyme. Absence of glycosylation site five resulted in rapid cleavage of the primary translation product to an enzymatically inactive protein which accumulated inside the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi, whereas deletion of glycosylation site six led to the formation of an inactive ASM precursor, also retained inside the endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi. Our results also provide evidence that the site of early proteolytic cleavage of newly synthesized ASM must be located between the second and third glycosylation sites.

Animals↗

Photoaffinity labelling of the human GM2-activator protein. Mechanistic insight into ganglioside GM2 degradation.

The GM2-activator protein (GM2AP) is an essential cofactor for the degradation of ganglioside GM2 by lysosomal beta-hexosaminidase A. It mediates the interaction between the water-soluble exohydrolase and its membrane-bound substrate at the lipid-water interphase. Inherited defects in the gene encoding this glycoprotein result in a fatal neurological storage disorder, the AB variant of GM2-gangliosidosis. To elucidate the mode of action of this glycoprotein cofactor, we synthesized the two photoaffinity labels [14C]C3-TPD-GM2 and [14C]C7-TPD-GM2. Incubation of GM2AP with these substrate analogues and subsequent irradiation led to covalent labelling of the protein. After separation of tryptic peptides by reverse-phase HPLC, the labelled peptide fractions were analysed by MALDI-TOF and sequenced by ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometry. Both labels were found to be specifically photoincorporated into a part of the surface loop comprising residues V153-L163, a stretch of amino acids that was previously identified as the most flexible region in the crystal structure of the activator. Our results provide strong evidence that this loop constitutes the part of the activator protein that directly interacts with the ganglioside substrate, suggesting that the hydrophobicity and the great structural mobility of this element are crucial for the extraction of the membrane-embedded glycolipid, its stabilization inside the spacious cavity and its guidance to the enzyme's active site. This study demonstrates that the approach of photoaffinity labelling in conjunction with accurate mass measurements can provide insight into substrate binding interactions that complements structural information.

Amino Acid Sequence↗