Toxocara infection seroprevalence and its relationship with atopic features in a general adult population.

BACKGROUND: The relationship of helminth infection with atopy is controversial. Toxocariasis is the most common helminth infection in industrialized countries. The study aimed to investigate the association between Toxocara exposure and atopic features. METHODS: The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 463 subjects, randomly selected (stratified by decades of age) from a general adult population. Toxocara exposure was defined by the presence of serum Toxocara antibodies. Main outcome measures included total serum IgE levels, skin prick tests (SPT) to a panel of 13 relevant aeroallergens, specific IgE to aeroallergens (Phadiatop test), and respiratory symptoms evaluated by means of a questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 134 subjects (weighted proportion 28.6%, 95% CI 26.5-30.7%) showed Toxocara exposure. Pet ownership, rural habitat, farming, and low educational level were associated with Toxocara exposure. Toxocara exposure was associated with both positive SPT (particularly to mites) and positive specific IgE (Phadiatop test) after adjusting for potential confounders. The effect of Toxocara exposure on total serum IgE levels and blood eosinophil count was different in SPT-positive subjects and SPT-negative individuals. In SPT-negative individuals, Toxocara exposure was associated with an increase in both serum IgE levels and eosinophil counts, whereas an opposite trend was observed in SPT-positive individuals. Toxocara exposure was not associated with respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In this adult population, Toxocara exposure is associated with allergic sensitization, particularly to mites. There is evidence of an intriguing interaction between Toxocara exposure and allergic sensitization for both total serum IgE levels and blood eosinophil counts.

Morphometry of the lower lumbar vertebrae in patients with and without low back pain.

UNLABELLED: The authors made several measurements in the lower lumbar vertebrae of patients with and without low back pain. Our objective was to determine the allometric relationships between different dimensions of the lumbar canal, the effects on these from degenerative disease, and differences between the symptomatic and asymptomatic populations. We compared 119 patients suffering from low back and sciatic pain and 39 subjects without lumbar symptoms as determined by computed tomography (CT). The following measurements were made: sagittal diameter of the canal, interpedicular distance, interarticular distance, and anteroposterior diameter of lateral recess and foramen. With respect to the patients with lumbar pain, the asymptomatic group proved to have wider foramina from L3 to L5 and wider sagittal diameters in S1. The patients with canal stenosis revealed lower figures for all diameters of the central canal, lateral recess of L4, and foramina of L4 and L5. Patients with lumbarization showed smaller diameters of the central canal. CONCLUSION: There is an allometric relationship between the dimensions of the central canals. This relationship is less evident with lateral canals. The patients without lumbar symptoms had wider foramina and sagittal diameters in S1 than those with lumbar symptoms. Of these, patients who developed symptoms of canal stenosis demonstrated smaller diameters in central and lateral canals. Of the developmental anomalies, lumbarization proved to be associated with canal stenosis due to smaller diameters of the central canals.

N-Glycan processing by a lepidopteran insect alpha1,2-mannosidase.

Protein glycosylation pathways are relatively poorly characterized in insect cells. As part of an overall effort to address this problem, we previously isolated a cDNA from Sf9 cells that encodes an insect alpha1,2-mannosidase (SfManI) which requires calcium and is inhibited by 1-deoxymannojirimycin. In the present study, we have characterized the substrate specificity of SfManI. A recombinant baculovirus was used to express a GST-tagged secreted form of SfManI which was purified from the medium using an immobilized glutathione column. The purified SfManI was then incubated with oligosaccharide substrates and the resulting products were analyzed by HPLC. These analyses showed that SfManI rapidly converts Man(9)GlcNAc(2)to Man(6)Glc-NAc(2)isomer C, then more slowly converts Man(6)GlcNAc(2)isomer C to Man(5)GlcNAc(2). The slow step in the processing of Man(9)GlcNAc(2)to Man(5)GlcNAc(2)by SfManI is removal of the alpha1,2-linked mannose on the middle arm of Man(9)GlcNAc(2). In this respect, SfManI is similar to mammalian alpha1,2-mannosidases IA and IB. However, additional HPLC and(1)H-NMR analyses demonstrated that SfManI converts Man(9)GlcNAc(2)to Man(5)GlcNAc(2)primarily through Man(7)GlcNAc(2)isomer C, the archetypal Man(9)GlcNAc(2)missing the lower arm alpha1,2-linked mannose residues. In this respect, SfManI differs from mammalian alpha1,2-mannosidases IA and IB, and is the first alpha1,2-mannosidase directly shown to produce Man(7)GlcNAc(2)isomer C as a major processing intermediate.

The transmembrane domain of murine alpha-mannosidase IB is a major determinant of Golgi localization.

Murine alpha1,2-mannosidase IB is a type II transmembrane protein localized to the Golgi apparatus where it is involved in the biogenesis of complex and hybrid N-glycans. This enzyme consists of a cytoplasmic tail, a transmembrane domain followed by a "stem" region and a large C-terminal catalytic domain. To analyze the determinants of targeting, we constructed various deletion mutants of murine alpha1,2-mannosidase IB as well as alpha1,2-mannosidase IB/yeast alpha1,2-mannosidase and alpha1,2-mannosidase IB/GFP chimeras and localized these proteins by fluorescence microscopy, when expressed transiently in COS7 cells. Replacing the catalytic domain of alpha1,2-mannosidase IB with that of the homologous yeast alpha1,2-mannosidase and deleting the "stem" region in this chimera had no effect on Golgi targeting, but caused increased cell surface localization. The N-terminal tagged protein lacking a catalytic domain was also localized to the Golgi. In the latter case, when the stem region was partially or completely removed, the protein was found in both the ER and the Golgi. A chimera consisting of the alpha1,2-mannosidase IB N-terminal region (cytoplasmic and transmembrane domains plus 10 amino acids of the "stem" region) and GFP was localized mainly to the Golgi. Deletion of 30 out of 35 amino acids in the cytoplasmic tail had no effect on Golgi localization. A GFP chimera lacking the entire cytoplasmic tail was found in both the ER and the Golgi. These results indicate that the transmembrane domain of alpha1,2-mannosidase IB is a major determinant of Golgi localization.

Mutation of Arg(273) to Leu alters the specificity of the yeast N-glycan processing class I alpha1,2-mannosidase.

Class I alpha1,2-mannosidases (glycosyl hydrolase family 47) involved in the processing of N-glycans during glycoprotein maturation have different specificities. Enzymes in the endoplasmic reticulum of yeast and mammalian cells remove a single mannose from Man(9)GlcNAc(2) to form Man(8)GlcNAc(2) isomer B (lacking the alpha1, 2-mannose residue of the middle alpha1, 3-arm), whereas other alpha1,2-mannosidases, including Golgi alpha1,2-mannosidases IA and IB, can convert Man(9)GlcNAc(2) to Man(5)GlcNAc(2). In the present work, it is demonstrated that with a single mutation in its catalytic domain (Arg(273) --> Leu) the yeast endoplasmic reticulum alpha1,2-mannosidase acquires the ability to transform Man(9)GlcNAc to Man(5)GlcNAc. High resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the products shows that the order of removal of mannose from Man(9)GlcNAc is different from that of other alpha1, 2-mannosidases that remove four mannose from Man(9)GlcNAc. These results demonstrate that Arg(273) is in part responsible for the specificity of the endoplasmic reticulum alpha1,2-mannosidase and that small differences in non-conserved amino acids interacting with the oligosaccharide substrate in the active site of class I alpha1, 2-mannosidases are responsible for the different specificities of these enzymes.

Mnt2p and Mnt3p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are members of the Mnn1p family of alpha-1,3-mannosyltransferases responsible for adding the terminal mannose residues of O-linked oligosaccharides.

The genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains five genes that encode type II transmembrane proteins with significant amino acid similarity to the alpha-1,3-mannosyltransferase Mnn1p. The roles of the three genes most closely related to MNN1 were examined in mutants carrying single and multiple combinations of the disrupted genes. Paper chromatographic analysis of [2-3H]mannose-labeled O-linked oligosaccharides released by beta-elimination showed that the MNT2 (YGL257c) and MNT3 (YIL014w) genes in combination with MNN1 have overlapping roles in the addition of the fourth and fifth alpha-1,3-linked mannose residues to form Man4 and Man5 oligosaccharides whereas MNT4 (YNR059w) does not appear to be required for O-glycan synthesis.

Substrate specificities of recombinant murine Golgi alpha1, 2-mannosidases IA and IB and comparison with endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi processing alpha1,2-mannosidases.

The catalytic domains of murine Golgi alpha1,2-mannosidases IA and IB that are involved in N-glycan processing were expressed as secreted proteins in P.pastoris . Recombinant mannosidases IA and IB both required divalent cations for activity, were inhibited by deoxymannojirimycin and kifunensine, and exhibited similar catalytic constants using Manalpha1,2Manalpha-O-CH3as substrate. Mannosidase IA was purified as a 50 kDa catalytically active soluble fragment and shown to be an inverting glycosidase. Recombinant mannosidases IA and IB were used to cleave Man9GlcNAc and the isomers produced were identified by high performance liquid chromatography and proton-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Man9GlcNAc was rapidly cleaved by both enzymes to Man6GlcNAc, followed by a much slower conversion to Man5GlcNAc. The same isomers of Man7GlcNAc and Man6GlcNAc were produced by both enzymes but different isomers of Man8GlcNAc were formed. When Man8GlcNAc (Man8B isomer) was used as substrate, rapid conversion to Man5GlcNAc was observed, and the same oligosaccharide isomer intermediates were formed by both enzymes. These results combined with proton-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data demonstrate that it is the terminal alpha1, 2-mannose residue missing in the Man8B isomer that is cleaved from Man9GlcNAc at a much slower rate. When rat liver endoplasmic reticulum membrane extracts were incubated with Man9GlcNAc2, Man8GlcNAc2was the major product and Man8B was the major isomer. In contrast, rat liver Golgi membranes rapidly cleaved Man9GlcNAc2to Man6GlcNAc2and more slowly to Man5GlcNAc2. In this case all three isomers of Man8GlcNAc2were formed as intermediates, but a distinctive isomer, Man8A, was predominant. Antiserum to recombinant mannosidase IA immunoprecipitated an enzyme from Golgi extracts with the same specificity as recombinant mannosidase IA. These immunodepleted membranes were enriched in a Man9GlcNAc2to Man8GlcNAc2-cleaving activity forming predominantly the Man8B isomer. These results suggest that mannosidases IA and IB in Golgi membranes prefer the Man8B isomer generated by a complementary mannosidase that removes a single mannose from Man9GlcNAc2.

The yeast CWH41 gene encodes glucosidase I.

N-Glycosylation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae entails the synthesis of a Glc3Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide precursor which is subsequently transferred to suitable protein acceptors, a process which is conserved among all eukaryotes. Processing of the oligosaccharide occurs immediately following this transfer, the first step being the removal of the terminal alpha-1,2-linked glucose by glucosidase I in the endoplasmic reticulum. Although yeast glucosidase I has been isolated, the yeast gene encoding this enzyme has not yet been identified. In the present work, it is shown that Cwh41p, a yeast endoplasmic reticulum protein previously identified as being required for normal cell wall beta-1,6-glucan synthesis (Jiang, Sheraton, Ram, Dijkgraaf, Klis, and Bussey (1996) J. Bacteriol., 178, 1162-1171), has significant amino acid similarity to the product of the human glucosidase I cDNA. Tetrad analysis for glucosidase I activity in vitro and in vivo was done on the progeny from the spores obtained from the heterozygous diploid, cwh41 delta::HIS3. It is shown that, unlike CWH41 cells, cell extracts obtained from cwh41 delta null mutants are unable to release glucose residues from the synthetic trisaccharide substrate alpha-D-Glc 1-->2 alpha-D-Glc 1-->3 alpha-D-Glc-O(CH2)8 COOCH3 in vitro. Following 1 h labeling of cells with [3H]mannose, analysis by high pressure liquid chromatography of the labeled N-linked oligosaccharides, combined with treatment with jack bean alpha mannosidase and yeast glucosidase I, shows that the oligosaccharides isolated form a cwh41 delta null mutant are fully glucosylated, retaining the three terminal glucose residues, whereas the oligosaccharides from CWH41 cells do not have any glucose residues. These results showing a lack of glucosidase I activity in cwh41 delta null mutants both in vitro and in vivo are consistent with the structural evidence that CWH41 encodes the yeast glucosidase I.

Ktr1p is an alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Comparison of the enzymic properties of soluble recombinant Ktr1p and Kre2p/Mnt1p produced in Pichia pastoris.

The yeast genome contains a KRE2/MNT1 family of nine related genes with amino acid similarity to the alpha 1,2-mannosyltransferase Kre2p/Mnt1p, the only member of this family whose enzymic properties have been studied. In this study, the enzymic properties of Ktr1p, another member of this family, were studied and compared to those of Kre2p/Mnt1p. Recombinant soluble forms of Kre2p/Mnt1p and Ktr1p lacking their N-terminal regions were expressed as secreted proteins from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. After induction with methanol, the medium contained approx, 40 and 400 mg/l of soluble recombinant Kre2p/Mnt1p and Ktr1p respectively. Both recombinant proteins were shown to exhibit alpha 1,2-mannosyltransferase activity. The enzymes have an absolute requirement for Mn2+ and a similar K(m) for mannose (280-350 mM), methyl-alpha-mannoside (60-90 mM) and GDP-mannose (50-90 microM), but the Vmax was approx. 10 times higher for Kre2p/Mnt1p than for Ktr1p. The enzymes have similar substrate specificities and utilize mannose, methyl-alpha-mannoside, alpha-1,2-mannobiose and methyl-alpha-1,2-mannobiose, as well as Man15-30GlcNAc, derived from mnn2 mutant glycoproteins, as substrates. The enzymes do not utilize alpha-1,6-mannobiose, alpha-1,6-mannotriose, alpha-1,6-mannotetraose, mammalian Man9GlcNAc or yeast Man9-10GlcNAc. These results indicate that Kre2p/ Mnt1p and Ktr1p are capable of participating in both N-glycan and O-glycan biosynthesis.

The nucleotide sequence of TTP1, a gene encoding a predicted type II membrane protein.

The DNA sequence of a 2967 bp fragment located near the centromere of chromosome II, between the CEN2 and FUR4 genes, was determined. The segment contains a new open reading frame of 1794 bp. The product encoded by the gene, designated TTP1, is a predicted type II membrane protein of 597 amino acid residues with a short cytoplasmic NH2-terminus, a membrane-spanning region and a large COOH-terminal region containing three potential N-glycosylation sites. Gene disruption indicated that TTP1 is not essential for cell growth.

Glycoprotein biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Partial purification of the alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase that initiates outer chain synthesis.

The alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase (alpha-1,6-ManT) that initiates outer chain synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was partially purified along with an alpha-1,2-mannosyltransferase (alpha-1,2-ManT) that acts on alpha-methylmannoside. The enzymes were solubilized by extracting a 145,000 g pellet of S.cerevisiae mnn1 mutant with 1% Triton X-100. The extract was then passed through a concanavalin A-Sepharose column and the bound material was eluted with alpha-methylmannoside. After exhaustive dialysis, the fractions containing both mannosyltransferase activities were chromatographed on DEAE-Trisacryl which removed approximately 90% of the alpha-1,2-ManT. The fractions containing alpha-1,6-ManT and residual alpha-1,2-ManT were further purified by sequential chromatography on Sephacryl S-200 and CM-Trisacryl. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of individual fractions eluted from Sephacryl S-200 and from CM-Trisacryl, followed by silver staining of the gels, showed two major bands whose intensity corresponded to the enzyme activities. A protein band of approximately 62 kDa corresponded to the alpha-1,6-ManT and another band of approximately 66 kDa, which was eluted from the Sephacryl S-200 column slightly earlier, corresponded to the alpha-1,2-ManT.

Lamp-1 does not acquire the large polylactosaminoglycans characteristic of F9 cells.

Although F9 cells labelled with [3H]glucosamine synthesize many glycoproteins that bind to Datura stramonium agglutinin-agarose, only a small proportion of these were immunoprecipitated with monoclonal antibodies to lamp-1 and lamp-2 (lamp = lysosomal membrane protein). Differentiation of F9 cells by retinoic acid increased labelling of all Datura stramonium-bound glycoproteins, including lamp-1 and lamp-2. Although the large polylactosaminoglycans excluded from Bio-Gel P-6 that are characteristic of F9 cells were obtained from total glycoproteins, little of these large polylactosaminoglycans was found on lamp-1 and lamp-2. There was no increase in large polylactosaminoglycans of lamp-1 and lamp-2 after retinoic acid treatment, but an increase in the size of small polylactosaminoglycans (included on Bio-Gel P-6) and tri- and tetra-antennary complex oligosaccharides. Therefore, other factors besides the expression of specific glycosyltransferases determine the extent of elongation of polylactosaminoglycans on lysosomal membrane proteins.

Specificity of the mannosyltransferase which initiates outer chain formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The in vitro specificity of the alpha 1-6 mannosyltransferase that initiates outer chain formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Romero and Herscovics, J. Biol. Chem., 264, 1946-1950, 1989) was reassessed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). A particulate fraction from the mnn1 mutant was incubated with GDP-mannose and either Man9GlcNAc (M9T) isolated from thyroglobulin or Man8GlcNAc (M8Y) obtained by treatment of the M9T with the yeast specific mannosidase. The Man10GlcNAc (M10Y) and Man9GlcNAc (M9Y) oligosaccharides thus obtained, and the substrate oligosaccharides, were peracetylated or perdeuteroacetylated and submitted to FAB-MS using meta-nitrobenzylalcohol as the matrix. The latter was chosen as the matrix because it enhances the abundance of high-mass-fragment ions of peracetylated oligosaccharides and thereby facilitates the assignment of branching patterns. The results indicate that the alpha 1-6 mannosyltransferase catalyses the addition of mannose to the alpha 1-3 mannose residue, and thus provide additional new evidence to support the revised structure of yeast mannoproteins proposed by Hernandez et al. (J. Biol. Chem., 264, 11849-11856, 1989). [formula: see text] where Gn is N-acetylglucosamine, M is mannose and M is mannose added by the enzyme.

Glycosyltransferase changes upon differentiation of CaCo-2 human colonic adenocarcinoma cells.

The spontaneous differentiation of CaCo-2 human colonic adenocarcinoma cells to enterocytes in culture is associated with a decrease in polylactosaminoglycans, particularly those attached to the lysosomal membrane glycoprotein h-lamp-1 (Youakim et al., Cancer Res., 49:6889-6895, 1989). To elucidate the biosynthetic mechanisms leading to these alterations we have compared glycosyltransferase activities that are involved in the synthesis of polylactosaminoglycans and of the N- and O-glycan structures that provide the framework for the attachment of these chains. Glycosyltransferase activities in cell homogenates obtained from undifferentiated and differentiated CaCo-2 cells were assayed by high pressure liquid chromatography separation of enzyme products. The beta-galactosidase activities and extremely high pyrophosphatase activities in differentiated cells were effectively inhibited by 5 mM gamma-galactonolactone and 10 mM AMP, respectively. CaCo-2 cells contain most of the enzymes that are involved in N-glycan branching [N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transferases I to V] with the exception of GlcNAc transferase VI. The levels of GlcNAc transferase I activities were comparable in undifferentiated and differentiated cells, but GlcNAc transferase II to V activities were significantly increased upon differentiation. The enzyme activities that are directly involved in the synthesis of linear polylactosaminoglycans (Gal beta 4GlcNAc beta 3- repeating units), blood group i UDP-GlcNAc:Gal beta-R beta 3-GlcNAc transferase and UDP-Gal:GlcNAc beta 4-Gal transferase, were found at similar levels in undifferentiated and differentiated CaCo-2 cells. Since GlcNAc transferase III activity is known to inhibit further branching and galactosylation, these results suggest that its increased activity in differentiated CaCo-2 cells may be partly responsible for the decreased synthesis of fucosylated polylactosaminoglycans. Differentiated cells showed a 2-fold increase in O-glycan core 2 UDP-GlcNAc:Gal beta 3GalNAc alpha-R [GlcNAc to N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)] beta 6-GlcNAc transferase activity. In contrast, O-glycan core 1 UDP-Gal:GalNAc alpha-R beta 3-Gal transferase activity was found decreased. Several enzymes that are found in homogenates from normal human colonic tissue are absent or barely detectable in CaCo-2 cells. These include blood group I UDP-GlcNAc:GlcNAc beta 3Gal beta-R (GlcNAc to Gal) beta 6-GlcNAc transferase, O-glycan core 3 UDP-GlcNAc:GalNAc alpha-R beta 3 GlcNAc transferase and O-glycan core 4 UDP-GlcNAc:GlcNAc beta 3GalNAc-R (GlcNAc to GalNAc) beta 6-GlcNAc transferase.

Decrease in polylactosaminoglycans associated with lysosomal membrane glycoproteins during differentiation of CaCo-2 human colonic adenocarcinoma cells.

The proportion of labeled polylactosaminoglycans found in glycoproteins decreases during spontaneous differentiation of CaCo-2 human colonic adenocarcinoma cells to enterocytes in culture (A. Youakim and A. Herscovics, Biochem. J., 247: 299-306, 1987). To identify polylactosaminoglycan-containing glycoproteins, CaCo-2 cells were incubated with [3H]glucosamine or [3H]fucose, for 24 h, and membrane glycoproteins solubilized with 0.5% Nonidet P-40 were fractionated by affinity chromatography on Datura stramonium (DSA)-agarose. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography showed that a restricted set of glycoproteins with a molecular weight of about 100,000 bound to DSA-agarose. These labeled glycoproteins were shown to contain polylactosaminoglycans by DSA-agarose chromatography and endo-beta-galactosidase digestion of Pronase-derived glycopeptides. Immunoprecipitation of the [3H]glucosamine-labeled Nonidet P-40 extract with polyclonal antibodies to the lysosomal membrane proteins h-lamp-1 and h-lamp-2 followed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography also revealed a band with a molecular weight of about 100,000. The immunoprecipitates were digested with Pronase, and the resulting glycopeptides were first fractionated on Bio-Gel P-6 into excluded (Fraction I) and included (Fraction II) glycopeptides, and then by DSA-agarose affinity chromatography. A much greater proportion of labeled glycopeptides in undifferentiated cells (3 to 5 days in culture) than in differentiated cells (19 to 27 days in culture) was recovered in Fraction I; these glycopeptides were bound to DSA-agarose and were sensitive to endo-beta-galactosidase. This decrease in polylactosaminoglycans was associated primarily with h-lamp-1. These results indicate that h-lamp-1 of CaCo-2 cells contains polylactosaminoglycans and that it undergoes a change in glycosylation with differentiation.

Glycoprotein biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Characterization of alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase which initiates outer chain formation.

A particulate fraction from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mnn1 mutant was obtained after extracting a 115,000 x g pellet with 0.75% Triton X-100. Incubation of this preparation with labeled Man8GlcNAc and Man9GlcNAc in the presence of GDP-mannose followed by high pressure liquid chromatography showed the formation of Man9GlcNAc and Man10GlcNAc, respectively. Analysis by high resolution 1H NMR of the products indicates that, in each case, the mannose residue added is alpha-1,6-linked to the alpha-1,6-mannose residue of the substrate as follows (where M represents mannose and Gn represents N-acetylglucosamine): (Formula: see text). The mannosyltransferase therefore catalyzes the first step specific to the biosynthesis of the outer chain of yeast mannoproteins. The apparent Km values for both substrates are similar: 0.39 mM for Man8GlcNAc and 0.35 mM for Man9GlcNAc. The alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase exhibits maximum activity between pH 7.1 and 7.6 in Tris maleate buffer, has an absolute requirement for Mn2+, and also requires Triton X-100. These results indicate that removal of the alpha-1,2-linked mannose residue from Man9GlcNAc is not essential for the alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase which initiates outer chain synthesis, at least when oligosaccharides are used as substrates in a cell-free system.

Effects of inhibitors of N-linked oligosaccharide processing on the biosynthesis and function of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I receptors.

We have used specific inhibitors of oligosaccharide processing enzymes as probes to determine the involvement of oligosaccharide residues in the biosynthesis and function of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I receptors. In a previous study (Duronio, V., Jacobs, S., and Cuatrecasas, P. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 970-975) swainsonine was used to inhibit mannosidase II, resulting in the production of receptors containing only hybrid-type oligosaccharides. These receptors had a slightly lower molecular weight and were much more sensitive to endoglycosidase H, but otherwise behaved identically to normal receptors. In this study, we used two compounds that inhibit oligosaccharide processing at earlier steps: (i) N-methyl-1-deoxynojirimycin (MedJN), which inhibits glucosidases I and II and yields glucosylated, high mannose oligosaccharides, and (ii) manno-1-deoxynojirimycin (MandJN), which inhibits mannosidase I and yields high mannose oligosaccharides. In the presence of MandJN, HepG2 cells synthesized receptors of lower molecular weight, which were cleaved into alpha and beta subunits and were able to bind hormone and autophosphorylate. These receptors were as sensitive to endoglycosidase H as receptors made in the presence of swainsonine. In the presence of MedJN, receptors of only slightly lower molecular weight than normal were synthesized and were shown to contain some glucosylated high mannose oligosaccharides. These receptors were able to bind hormone and retained hormone-sensitive autophosphorylation activity. In both cases, the incompletely processed receptors could be detected at the cell surface by cross-linking of iodinated hormone and susceptibility to trypsin digestion, although less receptor was present in cells treated with MedJN. Studies of receptor synthesis using pulse-chase labeling showed that the receptor precursors synthesized in the presence of MedJN were cleaved into alpha and beta subunits at a slower rate than normal receptors or those made in the presence of MandJN. Inhibition of oligosaccharide processing had no effect on the association of the receptor subunits into disulfide-linked oligomeric complexes.

Glucose trimming and mannose trimming affect different phases of the maturation of Sindbis virus in infected BHK cells.

The roles of glucose and mannose trimming in the maturation of Sindbis virus in BHK cells have been investigated using inhibitors of glycoprotein oligosaccharide processing. In the presence of the glucosidase inhibitor N-methyl-1-deoxynojirimycin the viral glycoproteins were equipped with oligosaccharides of the composition Glc3Man8,9(GlcNAc)2 and the yield of virus in the extracellular medium was reduced as a result of a block in the proteolytic cleavage of the precursor (pE2) of the E2 viral envelope glycoprotein. The mannosidase I inhibitor 1-deoxymannojirimycin (dMM) also inhibited the appearance of virus in the medium and the oligosaccharides on the viral glycoproteins had the composition Man9(GlcNAc)2. However, pE2 was cleaved to E2 under these conditions, and it was found that when the yield of virus from the cells and medium together was considered, there was no difference between untreated and dMM-treated cultures, suggesting the presence of intracellular virus particles in the dMM-treated cultures. When examined by electron microscopy, the dMM-treated cultures were found to contain intracellular virus particles. In addition, nucleocapsids were found lining intracellular membranes. These observations taken together with the plaque test data intimate that Sindbis virus preferentially buds from internal membranes in BHK cells treated with dMM. The results confirm the essential role of glucose trimming in the Sindbis virus-BHK cell system and suggest that the initial stages of mannose removal may be important too.

Transfer of nonglucosylated oligosaccharide from lipid to protein in a mammalian cell.

We have previously shown that the glucosidase inhibitor, N-methyl-1-deoxynojirimycin (MedJN), only partially inhibited N-linked complex oligosaccharide biosynthesis in F9 teratocarcinoma cells whereas the alpha-mannosidase I inhibitor, manno-1-deoxynojirimycin, completely prevented this synthesis (Romero, P. A. and Herscovics, A. (1986) Carbohydr. Res. 151, 21-28). In order to determine whether a pathway independent of processing glucosidases can occur, F9 cells were pulse-labeled for 2 min with D-[2-3H]mannose in the presence or absence of 2 mM MedJN. In control cells, Man7GlcNAc was identified in the protein-bound oligosaccharides released with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H, in addition to the expected Glc1-3Man9GlcNAc and Man9GlcNAc arising from processing of Glc3Man9GlcNAc. MedJN completely prevented the removal of glucose residues from Glc3Man9GlcNAc, but did not greatly affect the appearance of Man7GlcNAc associated with protein. Labeled Man7GlcNAc was also found in the lipid-linked oligosaccharides of both control and treated cells. The 2-min pulse-labeled Man7GlcNAc obtained from both the lipid and protein fractions were shown to have identical structures by concanavalin A-Sepharose chromatography and by acetolysis and were clearly different from the Man7GlcNAc obtained from the usual processing pathway. These results demonstrate that transfer of a nonglucosylated oligosaccharide (Man7GlcNAc2) from dolichyl pyrophosphate to protein occurs in F9 cells.