Development of a nucleotide sugar purification method using a mixed mode column & mass spectrometry detection.

Analysis of nucleotide sugars, nucleoside di- and triphosphates and sugar-phosphates is an essential step in the process of understanding enzymatic pathways. A facile and rapid separation method was developed to analyze these compounds present in an enzymatic reaction mixture utilized to produce nucleotide sugars. The Primesep SB column explored in this study utilizes hydrophobic interactions as well as electrostatic interactions with the phosphoric portion of the nucleotide sugars. Ammonium formate buffer was selected due to its compatibility with mass spectrometry. Negative ion mode mass spectrometry was adopted for detection of the sugar phosphate (fucose-1-phophate), as the compound is not amenable to UV detection. Various mobile phase conditions such as pH, buffer concentration and organic modifier were explored. The semi-preparative separation method was developed to prepare 30mg of the nucleotide sugar. (19)F NMR was utilized to determine purity of the purified fluorinated nucleotide sugar. The collected nucleotide sugar was found to be 99% pure.

Imaging Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry: a technique to map plant metabolites within tissues at high spatial resolution.

Imaging Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry provides a new and powerful tool to analyse the distribution of metabolites within plant tissues. The two matrices alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (alpha-CHCA) and 9-aminoacridine provide a useful combination that allows the measurement of amino acids, sugars, and phosphorylated metabolites. Results are presented showing that representatives of these metabolites are unevenly distributed in wheat seeds at different stages of development and under temperature stress.

Early pre-diabetic state alters adaptation of myocardial glucose metabolism during ischemia in rats.

Pre-diabetic subjects with high insulin secretory capacity have double risk of cardiovascular disease compared with subjects who do not develop insulin-resistance. It is well established that the ability of the myocardium to increase its glycolytic ATP production plays a crucial role in determining cell survival under conditions of ischemia. Up to now, whether the pre-diabetic state reduces the tolerance of the heart to ischemia by affecting its ability to increase its energy production through glycolysis remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to assess whether insulin resistance affects the ability of the myocardium to increase glycolysis under ischemic conditions. Male Wistar rats were fed for 8 weeks a fructose-enriched (33%) diet to induce a pre-diabetic state. Hearts were isolated and subjected to ex-vivo low-flow (2%) ischemia for 30 min. The fructose diet increased sarcolemmal GLUT4 localisation in myocardial cells under basal conditions compared with controls. This effect was not accompanied by increased glucose utilisation. Ischemia induced the translocation of GLUT4 to the plasma membrane in controls but did not significantly modify the distribution of these transporters in pre-diabetic hearts. Glycolytic flux under ischemic conditions was significantly lower in fructose-fed rat hearts compared with controls. The reduction of glycolytic flux during ischemia in fructose-fed rat hearts was not due to metabolic inhibition downstream hexokinase II since no cardiac accumulation of glucose-6-phosphate was detected. In conclusion, our results suggest that the pre-diabetic state reduces the tolerance of the myocardium to ischemia by decreasing glycolytic flux adaptation.

Hepatic glycogen breakdown is implicated in the maintenance of plasma mannose concentration.

D-mannose is an essential monosaccharide constituent of glycoproteins and glycolipids. However, it is unknown how plasma mannose is supplied. The aim of this study was to explore the source of plasma mannose. Oral administration of glucose resulted in a significant decrease of plasma mannose concentration after 20 min in fasted normal rats. However, in fasted type 2 diabetes model rats, plasma mannose concentrations that were higher compared with normal rats did not change after the administration of glucose. When insulin was administered intravenously to fed rats, it took longer for plasma mannose concentrations to decrease significantly in diabetic rats than in normal rats (20 and 5 min, respectively). Intravenous administration of epinephrine to fed normal rats increased the plasma mannose concentration, but this effect was negated by fasting or by administration of a glycogen phosphorylase inhibitor. Epinephrine increased mannose output from the perfused liver of fed rats, but this effect was negated in the presence of a glucose-6-phosphatase inhibitor. Epinephrine also increased the hepatic levels of hexose 6-phosphates, including mannose 6-phosphate. When either lactate alone or lactate plus alanine were administered as gluconeogenic substrates to fasted rats, the concentration of plasma mannose did not increase. When lactate was used to perfuse the liver of fasted rats, a decrease, rather than an increase, in mannose output was observed. These findings indicate that hepatic glycogen is a source of plasma mannose.

Fluorescent chemosensors for carbohydrates: a decade's worth of bright spies for saccharides in review.

This review provides a chronological survey of over fifty fluorescent chemosensors for carbohydrates from the period between 1992 to the present. The survey contains only those sensors that are synthetic or chemosensory, utilize boronic acids and display a fluorescence response in the form of intensity changes or shifts in wavelength. With each compound listed, a description of the saccharide probe is given with regard to concentration, excitation and emission wavelengths, pH and solvent mixture proportions. In addition, the selectivity of each chemosensor is provided as well as the trends in binding constants. Where possible, a description of the fluorescence signaling mechanism is given as well as commentary on the probe's unique features within this class of sensors.

Relevance and isotopic assessment of hexose-6-phosphate recycling in micro-organisms.

Some pathways of hexose-6-phosphate recycling--those involving a breakdown of the hexose skeleton--through carbohydrate metabolism of micro-organisms were analyzed for both metabolic and isotopic effects. Two modes of recycling were proposed based on the degree of alteration of the hexose molecule through the catabolic part of the cycle. Simulated operation of most of these pathways resulted in increased synthesis of hexose-6-phosphate and NADPH, and reduced the NADH and moreover the ATP synthesis within the carbohydrate metabolism. A basic model for the quantitative assessment by means of isotopic studies of the processes of hexose-6-phosphate recycling is presented. The model was initially designed for the study of micro-organisms producing polysaccharides, but it can be extended to other situations.

Determination of the phosphorylated sugars of the Embden-Meyerhoff-Parnas pathway in Lactococcus lactis using a fast sampling technique and solid phase extraction.

An experimental procedure for the determination of intracellular concentrations of the phosphorylated sugars in the lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis is presented. The first step of the procedure is a rapid sampling of a small volume of the growth medium into 60% (v/v) methanol precooled to -35 degrees C, bringing about a fast and complete stop of all metabolic activity. In contrast to yeast the metabolites leak out of the cells when these are brought into contact with methanol and are present in the medium and in the biomass after the quenching. A liquid-liquid extraction with chloroform at -25 degrees C ensures a total permeability of the cellular membrane towards the metabolites of interest as well as the inactivation of enzymes liable to alter their levels. The final step of the procedure consists in a solid phase extraction using columns with a high affinity for phosphorylated components. The internal standard was recovered to an extent of 85-95%.

Brain biochemistry in Williams syndrome: evidence for a role of the cerebellum in cognition?

OBJECTIVE: To determine what biochemical changes may occur in the brain in Williams syndrome (WS) and whether these changes may be related to the cognitive deficits. BACKGROUND: WS is a rare, congenital disorder with a characteristic physical, linguistic, and behavioral phenotype with known cognitive deficits. METHODS: We obtained 31P magnetic resonance spectra (MRS) from a region consisting of mostly frontal and parietal lobe of 14 patients with WS (age, 8 to 37 years) and 48 similarly-aged controls. 1H MRS (27 cm3) localized to the left cerebellum obtained from the WS cohort were compared with those from 16 chronological age- and sex-matched normal controls. A battery of cognitive tests were administered to all subjects undergoing 1H MRS. RESULTS: WS brains exhibited significant biochemical abnormalities. All 31P MRS ratios containing the phosphomonoester (PME) peak were significantly altered in WS, suggesting that PME is significantly decreased. Ratios of choline-containing compounds and creatine-containing compounds to N-acetylaspartate (Cho/NA and Cre/NA) were significantly elevated in the cerebellum in WS cf. controls, whereas the ratio of Cho/Cre was not altered. This suggests a decrease in the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate in the cerebellum. Significant correlations were found between the cerebellar ratios Cho/NA and Cre/NA and the ability of all subjects at various neuropsychological tests, including Verbal and Performance IQ, British Picture Vocabulary Scale, Ravens Progressive Matrices, and Inspection Time. CONCLUSIONS: The correlations can be interpreted in two ways: 1) Our sampling of cerebellar biochemistry reflects a measure of "global" cerebral biochemistry and is unrelated to cerebellar function, or 2) The relations indicate that cerebellar neuronal integrity is a requirement (on a developmental time scale or in real-time) for ability on a variety of cognitive tests.

Cleanup and analysis of sugar phosphates in biological extracts by using solid-phase extraction and anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection.

A cleanup method based on anion-exchange solid-phase extraction (SPE) was developed to render biological extracts suitable for the analysis of hexose phosphates with a modified anion-exchange chromatography method and pulsed amperometric detection. The method was applied to cell extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae obtained by using cold methanol as quenching agent and chloroform as extraction solvent. It was shown that pretreatment of the cell extract with SPE markedly improved the quality of the liquid chromatography analysis with recoveries of the sugar phosphates close to 100%. Furthermore, the method allowed for sample enrichment and the original extraction procedure could be simplified by implementing SPE early in the extraction protocol.

Purification to apparent homogeneity and properties of pig kidney L-fucose kinase.

L-Fucokinase was purified to apparent homogeneity from pig kidney cytosol. The molecular mass of the enzyme on a gel filtration column was 440 kDa, whereas on SDS gels a single protein band of 110 kDa was observed. This 110-kDa protein was labeled in a concentration-dependent manner by azido-[32P]ATP, and labeling was inhibited by cold ATP. The 110-kDa protein was subjected to endo-Lys-C digestion, and several peptides were sequenced. These showed very little similarity to other known protein sequences. The enzyme phosphorylated L-fucose using ATP to form beta-L-fucose-1-P. Of many sugars tested, the only other sugar phosphorylated by the purified enzyme was D-arabinose, at about 10% the rate of L-fucose. Many of the properties of the enzyme were determined and are described in this paper. This enzyme is part of a salvage pathway for reutilization of L-fucose and is also a valuable biochemical tool to prepare activated L-fucose derivatives for fucosylation reactions.

The role of glucose-6-phosphatase in the action of insulin on hepatic glucose production in the rat.

It has been suggested that regulation of glucose-6-phosphatase by insulin plays a role in the suppression of hepatic glucose production during feeding. We used hepatic glucose production (measured with the D-[3-3H]glucose infusion method) as an indicator of substrate flux through glucose-6-phosphatase in vivo. Compared with saline controls, insulin (7 mU.min-1 x kg-1, euglycemic clamp) suppressed hepatic glucose production virtually completely in both fasted (32.4 +/- 2.4 vs. -6.1 +/- 14 mumol.min-1 x kg-1) and fed (64.6 +/- 6.4 vs. 5.5 +/- 5.2 mumol.min-1 x kg-1) rats. Whereas hepatic glucose production was totally suppressed, [glucose-6-phosphate] in liver cytosol declined by only 27 and 35% in fasted and fed rats, respectively. Addition of hyperglycemia (10 mM) to the insulin infusion likewise fully suppressed hepatic glucose production (26.9 +/- 1.4 vs. -9 +/- 10 mumol.min-1 x kg-1 and 80.8 +/- 10.1 vs. -3.6 +/- 12.6 mumol.min-1 x kg-1 in fasted and fed rats, respectively), but [glucose-6-phosphate] again declined only modestly (21 and 27% in fasted and fed rats, respectively). This disproportionate suppression of hepatic glucose production could not be explained by cooperative substrate effects inasmuch as microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase isolated from saline- and insulin-treated rats followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Hill coefficient approximated 1). Acute insulin treatment of fasted rats in vivo did not reproducibly inhibit glucose-6-phosphatase activity assayed subsequently in isolated microsomes incubated in the absence of insulin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) identification of sugar phosphates in isolated rat ovarian follicular granulosa cells and the effects of follicle-stimulating hormone.

Immature female rats (23-30 days old) were implanted subcutaneously with diethylstilbestrol (DES) in silastic capsules. After 48 h their ovaries were removed and the granulosa cells isolated (Foreman et al. (1984) Life Sci. 35, 1273-1279). The cells were incubated in Hepes balanced saline buffer with substrates with or without follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). At the end of incubation perchloric acid extracts were made for 31P NMR spectroscopy. The resonances of fructose 1-phosphate, fructose 6-phosphate, glucose 1-phosphate, and ribose 5-phosphate were identified in the granulosa cell extracts. The relative intensities of fructose 6-phosphate to ribose 5-phosphate decreased after incubation with FSH in vitro. This suggests that FSH increases the activity of the pentose pathway within 1 h. Thus, FSH can acutely activate those metabolic pathways which provide nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) to be used in steroid synthesis and cholesterol mobilization.

Identification of mannose 6-phosphate in two asparagine-linked sugar chains of recombinant transforming growth factor-beta 1 precursor.

Recombinant transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) precursor produced and secreted by a clone of Chinese hamster ovary cells was found to be glycosylated and phosphorylated. Treatment of 32P-labeled precursor protein with N-glycanase indicated that phosphate was incorporated into asparagine-linked complex carbohydrate moieties. Fractionation of 32P-labeled glycopeptides followed by amino acid sequence analysis indicated that greater than 95% of the label was incorporated into two out of three glycosylation sites at Asn-82 and Asn-136 of the TGF-beta 1 precursor. Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of acid hydrolyzed precursor protein and precursor protein-derived glycopeptides indicated that 32P was incorporated as mannose 6-phosphate. Binding studies with the purified receptor for mannose 6-phosphate indicated that the TGF-beta 1 precursor could bind to this receptor and the binding was specifically inhibited with mannose 6-phosphate.

Elevated activity and increased mannose-6-phosphate in the carbohydrate moiety of cathepsin D from human hepatoma.

A significant elevation of cathepsin D activity was observed in six human hepatoma tissues as compared to 12 normal human livers. In isoelectric focusing experiments, cathepsin D purified from normal liver exhibited three different forms, with isoelectric points of 5.6, 6.1, and 6.7, while cathepsin D purified from hepatoma contained another five to six more acidic forms in addition to the forms observed in normal liver cathepsin D. When the tumor enzyme was treated with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H followed by isoelectric focusing, the acidic components disappeared and were converted to forms identical to those of the normal liver cathepsin D. Determination of the mannose-6-phosphate content showed that hepatoma cathepsin D contains twice as much mannose-6-phosphate as normal liver cathepsin D. Peptide mapping and amino acid analysis showed that the protein moiety of cathepsin D from hepatoma is almost identical with that from normal liver. These findings indicate that the appearance of acidic variants in hepatoma cathepsin D is mainly due to changes in the oligosaccharide chains of the enzyme, which are closely associated with the increase of mannose-6-phosphate in the tumor enzyme.

Thyroglobulin, the major and obligatory exportable protein of thyroid follicle cells, carries the lysosomal recognition marker mannose-6-phosphate.

Thyroglobulin (TG), the major exportable protein of thyroid follicle cells, is conveyed to lysosomes on a complex secretion, storage and recapture pathway by as yet unknown transport mechanisms. This report establishes that the dimeric porcine TG-molecule carries an average of six phosphate residues. Endoglycosidase digestion showed that two phosphate residues are bound to the high-mannose carbohydrate side chains (CHO), while two others are linked to the complex CHO. These four residues are also sensitive to alkaline phosphatase treatment, indicating their terminal linkage. Immunoprecipitation analyses showed that TG obtained from microsomal fractions is already phosphorylated. Most important, an enzymatic assay applied to hydrolysates of TG established that the two phosphate residues at the high mannose CHO are present as mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P). Alkaline phosphatase treatment of biosynthetically radiophosphorylated CHO followed by hydrolysis and t.l.c. indicated that M-6-P is present at least in part in phosphomonoester linkage. Furthermore, porcine TG binds specifically to the M-6-P receptor of Chinese hamster ovary cells. It is concluded that the M-6-P residues of TG are exposed and able to operate as a ligand for the M-6-P receptor. It is unknown why the lysosomal recognition-marker M-6-P does not convey TG directly on an intracellular route to lysosomes. We propose that for the secretion of newly synthesized TG into the follicle lumen an additional export signal dominating over the M-6-P recognition-marker is required.

Natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity does not depend on recognition of mannose 6-phosphate residues.

Interaction of mannose 6-phosphate-specific receptors with their ligands has been suggested to be essential for natural killer cell (NK)-mediated cytotoxicity. Indeed, mannose 6-phosphate-specific receptors and ligands bearing mannose 6-phosphate residues are demonstrable on human peripheral blood leukocytes with NK activity as well as on K-562 NK target cells, allowing at least in principle such an interaction. It can also be shown that NK activity of human peripheral blood leukocytes is inhibited by mannose 6-phosphate. The following observations, however, exclude an essential role of the mannose 6-phosphate receptor-ligand system in NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity. 1) NK cytotoxicity is sensitive to a broad range of structurally unrelated sugar phosphates. 2) NK activity is normal in patients with I cell disease (mucolipidosis II), which due to a genetic defect are unable to synthesize the ligands for the mannose 6-phosphate-specific receptor. 3) NK cytotoxicity is not inhibited by an antiserum against the mannose 6-phosphate receptor, which blocks the receptor function.

Metabolic changes in the autotransplanted baboon heart.

Chronic denervation of the heart leads to depletion of tissue catecholamines, giving rise to metabolic abnormalities, including a reduction in cardiac glucose oxidation. Impaired glucose oxidation could cause an increased oxidation of fat, which in turn could lead to development of coronary artery disease. Cardiac glucose oxidation (using 14C-(U),D-glucose) was studied in female baboons, before, and three to five weeks after, autotransplantation. Systemic arterial and coronary sinus samples were analyzed for total CO2 content, O2 content, 14CO2, glucose, lactate, pH, PCO2, and PO2. Tissue for metabolite assays (adenosine-5'-triphosphate [ADP] and creatine phosphate [CP]; glucose-6-phosphate [G6P] and fructose 6-phosphate [F6P] was obtained from the right ventricle before and after autotransplantation in some animals. There were no significant changes. Tissue was also obtained postmortem for analysis of noradrenaline, soluble tyrosine hydroxylase activity, and contractile and regulatory proteins. There was a large decrease in tissue noradrenaline, suggesting almost total sympathetic denervation. The level of tyrosine hydroxylase activity shows that the denervated heart can synthesize dopamine. There were no detectable changes in the contractile or regulatory proteins. In six of the nine baboons successfully studied, there was a distinct decrease in the oxidation of glucose after autotransplantation (P less than 0.05). This indicates that the removal of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve supply to the heart affects the ratio of glucose oxidized to other substrates.

Identification of methylphosphomannosyl residues as components of the high mannose oligosaccharides of Dictyostelium discoideum glycoproteins.

Lysosomal enzymes isolated from the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum bind to the mannose 6-phosphate receptor which is present in many mammalian cells. While binding to the receptor suggests that the slime mold enzymes possess the same mannose 6-phosphate recognition marker as their mammalian counterparts, initial structural studies of the phosphorylated oligosaccharides have indicated that the phosphate is attached to high mannose-type units via an unusual phosphodiester linkage (Freeze, H.H., Yeh, R., Miller, A.L., and Kornfeld, S. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 14874-14879). To identify the components of the phosphodiester group we have isolated the phosphorylated high-mannose oligosaccharides from D. discoideum AX3 cells labeled with [2-3H]mannose or [6-3H]glucosamine and from the differentiation medium of unlabeled cells. The major phosphorylated species contain one or two phosphodiester groups and an average of 6 or 7 mannose residues. The phosphodiesters are relatively stable to both acid and base hydrolysis, but upon strong acid hydrolysis (conditions that completely hydrolyze the oligosaccharide) mannose 6-phosphate residues are liberated. Through a combination of techniques, including fast atom bombardment and direct chemical ionization mass spectrometry, it is shown that the mannose 6-phosphate residues of the intact oligosaccharide are diesterified to methyl groups. This indicates that slime mold possesses a different biosynthetic pathway for the formation of phosphorylated high mannose-type oligosaccharides than is utilized by higher organisms.