Genomic organization and promoter activity of glucosidase I gene.

Glucosidase I initiates the processing of asparagine (N-) linked glycoproteins by removing the distal alpha1,2-linked glucosyl residue of the tetradecasaccharide Glc(3)Man(9)GlcNAc(2). The gene encoding this enzyme was isolated and its structural organization and promoter activity determined. The major transcript for glucosidase I on northern blot appeared to be 3.1 kb; Southern blotting and DNA sequencing indicated the size of the gene to be 6.8 kb, comprising four exons separated by three introns. The first exon encodes the cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane domain; the fourth encodes the putative catalytic domain of the enzyme. Exon-intron junctions are flanked by consensus splice donor and acceptor sequences. Transcription initiation sites were mapped by primer extension, ribonuclease protection assay and RT-PCR analysis. Primer extension results showed multiple initiation sites at -150, -156, and -272 bp relative to the translation initiation codon ATG. Sequence analysis of 5' flanking region showed no canonical TATA box, a high GC content, Sp1 and ETF binding sites (typical of a housekeeping gene promoter). Also noteworthy, the promoter region contains several generic STAT factor binding sites, one nearly perfect, and two half GR binding elements. Other cis- acting elements recognized by transcription factors such as AP-2, NF-kappaB, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptor (PR) were also present in the putative promoter region. To determine the promoter activity, a construct encompassing the region between -2114 to -5 bp of the putative promoter was ligated to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter plasmid and transiently transfected into COS 7 cells. CAT assay results clearly show transcriptional activity of the promoter.

Conserved structural features in glycoprotein processing glucosidase I from several tissues and species.

Glucosidase I initiates the processing of the oligosaccharide, Glc3Man9GlcNAc2, in newly assembled glycoproteins by excising the distal alpha 1,2-linked glucosyl residue in the oligosaccharide. Earlier, the enzyme purified from the ER of rat and bovine mammary gland has been found to have M(r) of 85 kDa, as examined by SDS-PAGE along with a domain structure in which a 39 kDa lumenally-oriented region is anchored to the ER through a transmembrane segment and a short cytoplasmic tail. These studies were further extended to include the enzyme from several different tissues of the rat, mouse, guinea pig and bovine mammary glands, sheep liver and pig kidney. Using anti-rat glucosidase I antibody as a probe and several biochemical parameters such as SDS-PAGE analysis, trypsin-catalyzed digestion, ConA-binding, endo H susceptibility and peptide mapping analysis by cleavage of the tryptophanyl peptide linkages within the enzyme, it was found that glucosidase I in all of the tissue sources examined has an M(r) of 85 kDa and is cross-reactive to anti-rat glucosidase antibody. The enzyme is a high mannose glycoprotein, and has domain features in its structure; the enzyme from mouse, rat, guinea pig and bovine mammary glands and sheep liver is sequentially cleaved by trypsin to generate fragments of 69, 55 and 39 kDa. The rate of release of the different fragments differs for different sources, indicating some evolutionary changes in its primary structure. The trypsin-released fragments from pig kidney enzyme are 69, 45 and 29 kDa in size, identical to the same observed earlier for pig liver.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Glucosidase I, a transmembrane endoplasmic reticular glycoprotein with a luminal catalytic domain.

We have analyzed the functional domain structure of rat mammary glucosidase I, an enzyme involved in N-linked glycoprotein processing, using biochemical and immunological approaches. The enzyme contains a high mannose type sugar chain that can be cleaved by endo-beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase H without significantly affecting the catalytic activity. Based on trypsin digestion pattern and the data on membrane topography, glucosidase I constitutes a single polypeptide chain of 85 kDa with two contiguous domains: a membrane-bound domain that anchors the protein to the endoplasmic reticulum and a luminal domain. A catalytically active 39-kDa domain could be released from membranes by limited proteolysis of saponin-permeabilized membranes with trypsin. This domain appeared to contain the active site of the enzyme and had the ability to bind to glucosidase I-specific affinity gel. Phase partitioning with Triton X-114 indicated the amphiphilic nature of the native enzyme, consistent with its location as an integral membrane protein, whereas the 39-kDa fragment partitioned in the aqueous phase, a characteristic of soluble polypeptide. These results indicate that glucosidase I is a transmembrane protein with a luminally oriented catalytic domain. Such an orientation of the catalytic domain may facilitate the sequential processing of asparagine-linked oligosaccharide, soon after its transfer en bloc by the oligosaccharyl transferase complex in the lumen of endoplasmic reticulum.