Effects of glycosylation on the structure and dynamics of eel calcitonin in micelles and lipid bilayers determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The three-dimensional structures of eel calcitonin (CT) and two glycosylated CT derivatives, [Asn(GlcNAc)3]-CT (CT-GlcNAc) and [Asn(Man6-GlcNAc2)3]-CT (CT-M6), in micelles were determined by solution NMR spectroscopy. The topologies of these peptides associated with oriented lipid bilayers were determined with solid-state NMR. All of the peptides were found to have an identical conformation in micelles characterized by an amphipathic alpha-helix consisting of residues Ser5 through Leu19 followed by an unstructured region at the C-terminus. The overall conformation of the peptide moiety was not affected by the glycosylation. Nevertheless, comparison of the relative exchange rates of the Leu12 amide proton might suggest the possibility that fluctuations of the alpha-helix are reduced by glycosylation. The presence of NOEs between the carbohydrate and the peptide moieties of CT-GlcNAc and CT-M6 and the amide proton chemical shift data suggested that the carbohydrate interacted with the peptide, and this might account for the conformational stabilization of the alpha-helix. Both the unmodified CT and the glycosylated CT were found to have orientations with their helix axes parallel to the plane of the lipid bilayers by solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

Exposed peptide core of IgA1 hinge region in IgA nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: The human IgA1 hinge region is a very unique O-linked glycopeptide, and its sialylation and galactosylation recently were reported to be defective in the serum IgA1 derived from patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). This study was performed to examine the underglycosylation of the IgA1 hinge region and consequent exposure of the peptide core in IgAN. METHODS: A polyclonal antibody against a synthetic human IgA1 hinge peptide, PVPSTPPTP SPSTPPTPSPS, (anti-sHP ab) was raised in rabbits and shown specifically to recognize the IgA1 which was treated with neuraminidase, beta-galactosidase and alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase. The reactivity of the anti-sHP ab against the purified serum IgA1 was compared among the following three groups: 39 patients with IgAN, 30 patients with other renal diseases (ORD) and 21 healthy controls (HC) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The reactivity was significantly higher in the IgAN group (mean +/- SD of OD 490 nm: 0.327 +/- 0.059) than in the ORD group (0.274 +/- 0.043, P=0.0002) and in the HC group (0.265 +/- 0.037, P<0.0001). No significant difference was observed between the latter two groups. The frequency of positive cases (> mean +/- 2SD of HC) was 46.2% (18/39) in the IgAN group, 6.7% (2/30) in the ORD group and 0% (0/21) in the HC group. CONCLUSIONS: It was suggested that the peptide core of the IgA1 hinge region is exposed aberrantly by a defective N-acetylgalactosaminylation and plays a possible role in the pathogenesis of IgAN.

Application of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to the analysis of glycopeptide-containing multiple O-linked oligosaccharides.

In our previous report [Iwase et al., J. Biochem., 120 (1996) 393], the number of O-linked oligosaccharide chains on the hinge region of IgA1 was estimated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). In this experiment, the number of non-substituted N-acetylgalactosamines and Galbeta1,3GalNAc residues, as the core O-linked oligosaccharide structure per heavy chain of normal human serum IgA1, was estimated by digestion of the asialo-hinge glycopeptide with alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (GalNAc-ase) or endo-alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (endo-GalNAc-ase). GalNAc-ase treatment of the asialoglycopeptide produced two major peaks, one being a glycopeptide containing four GalNAc and four Gal residues, and the other contained three GalNAc and three Gal residues. Treatment with endo-GalNAc-ase also produced a nearly equal amount of the two peaks, with the naked hinge peptide and the peptide having one GalNAc residue. From those results, we concluded that the asialo-hinge glycopeptide was composed of three components bearing four Galbeta1,3GalNAc and one GalNAc, only four Galbeta1,3GalNAc, and three Galbeta1,3GalNAc and one GalNAc, respectively. This method was useful for determining the glycoforms on the IgA1 molecule with respect to the core O-linked oligosaccharide structure.

Analyses of IgA1 hinge glycopeptides in IgA nephropathy by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

This study was performed to analyze the structural variety of O-glycans on the IgA1 hinge in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The IgA1 fragments containing the hinge glycopeptide (33-mer hinge peptide core (HP) + O-glycans) were separated from 13 IgAN patients, eight healthy control subjects, and 11 patients with other primary glomerulonephritides by pyridylethylation, trypsin treatment, and Jacalin affinity chromatography. Because of the use of Jacalin, only the Gal beta 1-3GalNAc residue containing IgA was analyzed. The molecular weights (MW) of the IgA1 fragments treated by the following sequential treatment by exoglycosidases were estimated using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: (1) Sialidase treatment: the MW of the two observed peaks A and B were compatible with (A) HP + 4GalNAc + 4Gal and (B) HP + 5GalNAc + 4Gal. (2) Sialidase and galactosidase: the MW of the two identified peaks a and b were consistent with (a) HP + 4GalNAc and (b) HP + 5GalNAc. (3) Sialidase, galactosidase, and alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase. All subjects revealed one peak, indicating the 33-mer IgA1 hinge peptide core. The intensity rate of peak B/A was significantly decreased in the IgAN group (mean +/- SD, 1.01 +/- 0.08) compared with the negative control subjects (healthy group, 1.15 +/- 0.06, P = 0.0048; other glomerulonephritis group, 1.13 +/- 0.10, P = 0.0049; Scheffe's F test). These results suggested the presence of a defect in the Gal and/or GalNAc residues in the IgA1 hinge glycopeptides in IgAN.

Evidence for involvement of IgA1 hinge glycopeptide in the IgA1-IgA1 interaction in IgA nephropathy.

The study was performed to investigate the role of the IgA1 hinge region in the IgA1-IgA1 interaction, which was observed previously in IgA nephropathy. The competitive inhibition assays of the IgA1-IgA1 binding were performed using the following candidates for inhibitors: native IgA1 hinge glycopeptide (nHGP), IgA1, IgA2, and IgG. The IgA1-IgA1 binding was definitely inhibited by the nHGP and the IgA1 (maximum of percent inhibition: 66.1 and 60.5%, respectively). There was no obvious inhibition in the IgA2 and the IgG. The inhibition curves of the nHGP and the IgA1 were significantly different from that of the IgG (P < 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, to reveal the detailed binding sites in the interaction, the same inhibition assays were performed using the following substances composing the IgA1 hinge glycopeptide: galactose (Gal), N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc), Gal beta 1-3GalNAc, sialic acid, tetrapeptide PTPS, and synthesized hinge proline-rich peptide PVPSTPPTPSPSTPPTPSPS (sHP). sHP, Gal beta 1-3GalNAc, Gal, and GalNAc inhibited the binding (69.3, 34.1, 14.9, 14.6%, respectively). No obvious inhibition was observed in sialic acid and tetrapeptide PTPS. The inhibition curve of sHP was significantly different from that of the PTPS (P < 0.05). Those of Gal beta 1-3GalNAc, Gal, and GalNAc were also significantly different from that of sialic acid (P < 0.05, respectively). These results suggested that the IgA1-IgA1 interaction could be mediated by the core structure including the peptide and the sugars, except for sialic acid in the hinge region, resulting in the formation of the circulating macromolecular IgA1 in IgA nephropathy.

Association of asialo-galactosyl beta 1-3N-acetylgalactosamine on the hinge with a conformational instability of Jacalin-reactive immunoglobulin A1 in immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

The O-glycans in Jacalin-binding immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) were released by gas-phase hydrazinolysis and were fractionated by gel filtration and reversed-phase HPLC. Four peaks (P1 to P4) were obtained. There was a significant shift from Peak 2 (monosialylated Gal beta 1-3GalNAc) to Peak 4 (asialo-Gal beta 1-3GalNAc) in the IgA-nephropathy group compared with the negative control group (P < 0.05). One of the functions of the carbohydrate side chains is to stabilize the three-dimensional structure of the glycopeptides. In order to evaluate the stability of the Jacalin-binding IgA1 molecule, the increase in turbidity as a consequence of the increase of the aggregated IgA1 level under the condition of high temperature (63 degrees C) was observed. The increase in the turbidity was significantly higher in the IgA nephropathy group compared with the negative control group (21.7 vs. 5.9% at 150 min, P < 0.02). From a sample of IgA1 solution that had originated from a pooled normal serum, heat-tolerant (nonaggregated) and intolerant (aggregated) IgA1 molecules were separated by gel filtration. The heat-intolerant IgA1 had lower amounts of sialic acid (27.4 micrograms/mg IgA1) than the tolerant IgA1 (37.6 micrograms/mg IgA1). Further, the analysis of the O-glycans released from another IgA1 sample by the hydrazinolysis revealed that the ratio of the asialo-Gal beta 1-3GalNAc/total Gal beta 1-3GalNAc in the heat-in-tolerant IgA1 (27.2%) was increased compared with that in the heat-tolerant IgA1 (18.2%). From these results, it was suggested that unusual glycosylation on the hinge region of Jacalin-binding IgA1 induced an insufficient conformational stiffness to the hinge peptide, resulting in the aggregation of the IgA1 molecule in IgA nephropathy.

A new method of determining the solute permeability of hollow-fiber dialysis membranes by means of laser lights traveling along optic fibers.

To develop a new method of determining solute permeability more simply and accurately, the authors employed light from a laser traveling along quartz optic fibers. Dialysis experiments at 310 K were made with a single hollow fiber containing aqueous test solutes. A membrane tube was sealed at either end with quartz optic fibers. Helium-neon and helium-cadmium laser lights emitted from one of these optic fibers into the test solution at wavelengths of 543 and 442 nm for vitamin B12 and cytochrome-C, respectively, were caught by the other optic fiber and detected with a silicon photodiode. The solute permeability for cytochrome-C obtained by this method was almost in agreement with that for beta-2-microglobulin by the radioisotope method. This study demonstrates the usefulness of light from a laser traveling along quartz optic fibers in determining the solute permeability of hollow-fiber dialysis membranes.

Stereospecific absorption and degradation of cephalexin.

Stereospecific absorption and degradation of two stereoisomers about the alpha-amino group at the 7-position of cephalexin (CEX) have been investigated in the rat intestine. The L-isomer (L-CEX) was not found to be present either in serum or urine after oral administration, but the D-isomer (D-CEX) was well absorbed. In contrast to the saturable uptake of D-CEX (Kt = 10.54 +/- 1.73 mM, pH = 6.0) by the in-vitro everted intestinal sac, no appreciable uptake of L-CEX was observed. However, L-CEX competitively inhibited the uptake of D-CEX by the in-vitro everted intestine and the inhibitory constant (Ki) of L-CEX was determined to be 0.67 +/- 0.09 mM. L-CEX was rapidly degraded in-vitro in the intestinal tissue homogenate, serum and urine, while there was no appreciable degradation of D-CEX. Analysis of the major metabolite of L-CEX by high-performance liquid chromatography identified it as 7-aminodeacetoxycephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA). Furthermore, 7-ADCA was detected in serum after oral administration of L-CEX, indicating significant absorption of L-CEX as well as D-CEX. The results obtained suggest that both L- and D-CEX can be absorbed through the intestinal brush-border membrane via the same mechanism, most likely through the dipeptide transport system, and that the affinity of L-CEX to the carrier system is higher than that of D-CEX.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)