Glycolipid and mucopolysaccharide abnormality in fibroblasts of fabry's disease.

Cultures of skin fiibroblasts from a patient with Fabry's disease showed an accumulation of the glycolipid, galactosyl-galactosyl-glucosyl ceramide. Such cells also showed metachromasia on staining with toluidine blue and a markedly elevated acid mucopolysaccharide content.

Enzyme replacement in Fabry's disease, an inborn error of metabolism.

Two patients with Fabry's disease were infused with normal plasma to provide active enzyme (ceramide trihexosidase) for hydrolysis of the plasma substrate, galactosylgalactosylglucosylceramide. Maximum ceramide trihexosidase activity occurred 6 hours after infusion of the plasma, attaining a level approximately 150 percent of that in normal plasma; enzymatic activity was detectable for 7 days. The amount of accumulated substrate in the plasma of these recipients decreased about 50 percent on day 10 after infusion. Thus, periodic replacement of ceramide trihexosidase activity in the plasma of patients with Fabry's disease might lead to consistently lower amounts of substrate in the plasma and a decrease in its rate of accumulation in tissues.

Triacontanol: a new naturally occurring plant growth regulator.

Alfalfa meal and chloroform extracts of the meal have increased the growth and yield of several plant species. A crystalline substance isolated from the active fraction of alfalfa meal increased the dry weight and water uptake of rice seedlings when sprayed on the foliage or applied in nutrient culture. The substance was identified as triacontanol by mass spectrometry. Sprays containing this compound also increased the growth of corn, and barley grown in soil. Authentic triacontanol produced a similar response over a wide range of concentrations on rice grown in nutrient cultures and tomatoes grown in soil.

Effect of retinoic acid and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate on glycosyltransferase activities in normal and transformed cells.

Retinoic acid was found to increase the activity of cytidine monophosphosialic acid:lactosylceramide sialyltransferase activity in a nontransformed clonal hamster cell line, NIL 8, and a virally transformed clone, NIL 8-HSV. The potent tumor promoter phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) had no significant effect on sialyltransferase activity in NIL 8 cells but stimulated this activity almost 6-fold when added to NIL 8-HSV cells. There was a synergistically additive effect on sialyltransferase activity when PMA was added to NIL 8 cells in concert with retinoic acid. On the other hand neither PMA nor retinoic acid had an appreciable effect on two other glycosyltransferases measured, uridine diphospho-N-acetylgalactosamine:globotriaosylceramide N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase and uridine diphosphogalactose:asialoagalactofetuin galactosyltransferase. Examination of sialyltransferase activity in a human epidermoid carcinoma cell line showed a large increase in enzyme activity in response to retinoic acid administration. Two nontransformed hamster cell lines had less basal sialyltransferase activity but also showed marked elevations after retinoic acid treatment. It is proposed that one of the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological effects of retinoic acid and PMA may be an increase in sialyltransferase activity. Possible regulatory mechanisms are discussed.

The structure of canine intestinal trihexosylceramide.

One of the neutral glycosphingolipids isolated from dog intestine has a mobility on thin-layer chromatography and a carbohydrate composition similar to trihexosylceramides. Structural analysis has shown that it consists largely of isoglobotriaosylceramide, galactosyl(alpha-1-3)galactosyl(beta-1-4)glucosyl(beta 1-1')ceramide.

Plasma alpha-galactosidase A:properties and comparisons with tissue alpha-galactosidases.

The human plasma form of alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-D-galactoside galactohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.22) was highly purified and exhibited apparent Km values of 1.9 mM with 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside and 0.23 mM with globotriglycosylceramide. Its inhibition with myo-inositol (Ki = 0.29 M) was similar to that observed with alpha-galactosidase A from various tissues. The plasma form of this lysosomal enzyme has a lower molecular weight of 96 600, a lower pI of 3.7 and faster electrophoretic mobility in polyacrylamide gels than the enzyme obtained from human liver. These data and the increased pI obtained after neuraminidase treatment suggest that the plasma form is an isoenzyme with a more highly sialylated carbohydrate moiety than the tissue isoenzymes.

Characterization of a glycosphingolipid beta-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase activity in cultured hamster (nil) cells.

The activity of a glycosphingolipid N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GalNAc transferase) in cultured hamster fibroblasts (NIL-8) was characterized with respect to substrate binding, acceptor specificity, pH optimum and detergent requirements. Of the glycosphingolipid acceptors tested, transferase activity was observed only with globotriaosylceramide. The apparent Km values for uridinediphosphate-N-acetylgalactosamine and globotriasylceramide were 0.14 and 0.42 mM, respectively. The enzyme required Mn2+ for maximum activity (4 mM), and Mg2+ was not able to replace Mn2+. Of the detergents tested, sodium taurodeoxycholate gave the greatest activation of the enzyme at 1 mg/ml. A broad pH optimum (4.5-8.0) was obtained, with maximum activity at pH 6.0 in 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid. Globotetraosylceramide and II3-alpha-N-acetylneuraminyl-lactosylceramide inhibited transferase activity with globotriaosylceramide as substrate, but lactosylceramide had no effect on the activity with this acceptor. The major product of the assay was shown to be a tetraglycosylceramide with a terminal beta-N-acetylgalactosamine moiety by co-migration with authentic globotetraosylceramide on TLC plates and by cleavage of the labeled N-acetylgalactosamine from the product by jack bean beta-hexosaminidase.

D,L-alpha-Fluoropalmitic acid inhibits sphingosine base formation and accumulates in membrane lipids of cultured mammalian cells.

D,L-alpha-Fluoropalmitic acid was synthesized by tosylation of methyl-D,L-alpha-hydroxypalmitate, and displacement of the tosylated function by tetrabutylammonium fluoride in acetonitrile. Uptake and utilization of the compound by cultured Balb/c 3T3 cells were studied after presentation of the fluoro fatty acid analogue complexed with bovine serum albumin. A concentration of 0.28 mM had very little effect on cell growth over several days of incubation, and cell morphology was unchanged. Chromatographic and mass spectrometric analyses at 6 and 12 h of incubation showed that D,L-alpha-fluoropalmitic acid was taken up by the cells and incorporated without modification as a fatty acyl moiety into select lipids. Significant levels of the compound were found at 12 h in phosphatidylcholine (1.6%) and sphingomyelin (0.6%) fatty acids, but not in those of other phospholipids or neutral lipids. D,L-alpha-Fluoropalmitic acid represented a significant percentage of the fatty acids of neutral glycosphingolipids (1.4%) and ceramides (0.8%) by 12 h. The fluoro fatty acid was not incorporated into long-chain sphingolipid bases, and mass spectrometry failed to reveal additional carbon-2 fluorine-substituted compounds in cellular lipids. Cellular levels of triacylglycerols and phosphatidylcholine remained essentially unchanged, or were slightly increased, while amounts of ceramide and gangliosides were decreased. Comparison of labeled palmitate incorporation into sphingolipid bases and fatty acids of sphingomyelin suggested inhibition of sphingosine synthesis by the fluoro fatty sphingomyelin suggested inhibition of sphingosine synthesis by the fluoro fatty acid. D,L-alpha-Fluoropalmitic acid inhibited the formation of palmitoyl-CoA by Balb/c 3T3 long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase in vitro. The results support involvement of CoA thiol ester-independent steps in modification of membrane lipids.

Characterization of a CMP-sialic acid:lactosylceramide sialyltransferase activity in cultured hamster cells.

Previous studies have shown a strong correlation between reduced levels of GM3 ganglioside and an increase in the oncogenic transformation of cultured cells. CMP-sialic acid:lactosylceramide sialyltransferase, which catalyzes GM3 synthesis, was characterized in cultured hamster fibroblasts (NIL-8) with respect to substrate binding, pH optimum, detergent requirements, metal ion requirements, activity during cell cycle phases and activity during cell growth phases. The apparent Km values for CMP-sialic acid and lactosylceramide were 0.16 and 0.11 mM, respectively. The enzyme required Mn2+ (15 mM) for maximal, but Mg2+ and Ca2+ were able to substitute to a lesser extent. Triton CF-54 (0.3%, w/v) compared to other nonionic detergents gave the greatest enzyme activation, while ionic detergents inhibited the enzyme. A broad pH optimum (4.5-8.0) was obtained, with maximum activity at pH 6.5 in cacodylate-HCl buffer. No buffer effects on enzyme activity were seen. Sialyltransferase activity was found to be highest in the M and G1 phases of the cell cycle and in the contact-inhibited phase of cell growth.

Isolation and identification of a fucose-containing ganglioside from bovine thyroid gland.

Bovine thyroid glands are known to contain a complex array of gandliosides. One of the predominant gangliosides was isolated analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The carbohydrate composition was fucose, N-acetylneuraminic acid, galactose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and glucose in molar ratios of 1:1:2:1:1. The structure of the ganglioside was identified as: (Formula: see text).

Pilot scale purification of alpha-galactosidase A from Cohn fraction IV-1 of human plasma.

Human plasma alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-D-galactoside galactohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.22) was purified 7000-fold over plasma levels from Cohn Fraction IV-1. The yield per kg starting material averaged 11 000 units (nmol galactose liberated per h) and the specific activity was about 600 units per mg protein with 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-galactoside. The ratio of 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-galactosidase to ceramide trihexosidase activities was 6.2. Both activities were heat labile and exhibited the same relative mobilities on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Enzymatic activity was stable for at least 4 months at 4 and -20 degrees C. The endotoxin concentration of this preparation averaged 0.26 mg per mg protein.

Characterization of Diacylglycerylphosphocholine Molecular Species by FAB-CAD-MS/MS: A General Method Not Sensitive to the Nature of the Fatty Acyl Groups.

The use of negative ion mode fast-atom bombardment-collision-activated dissociation-tandem mass spectrometry (FAB-CAD-MS/MS) for diacylglycerylphosphocholine molecular species determinations was investigated for 24 naturally occurring and synthetic compounds. The previously proposed method of selecting [M-15](-) as the parent ion and using the relative abundance of the carboxylate daughter ions to distinguish the positions of esterification was found to be unreliable in cases where the fatty acyl group at sn1 was much larger than that at sn2. The predicted greater abundance of the sn2 carboxylate daughter, relative to the sn1 carboxylate daughter, was also violated when polyunsaturated fatty acyl groups were esterifred at sn2. In addition, several marginal cases were found where the ratio of intensities of the sn2/sn1 carboxylate daughters followed the expected pattern (sn2 > sn1) initially, but reversed over extended scanning time. The use of an alternative FAB-CAD-MS/MS method is proposed where the [M-B6](-) ion is selected as the precursor and the relative intensities of the daughters resulting from loss of the free fatty acids at snl and sn2 are determined. In every case examined to date, the ion formed by loss of the free acid from the sn2 position was always more abundant. Because the parent ion is equivalent to the phosphatidic acid ion, this technique should be equally applicable to all other phospholipid classes where this fragment ion is present in the spectrum.

[Secretary sialidase activity and GM3 ganglioside].

The sialidase activities with GM3 ganglioside and sialyllactitol were demonstrated in the conditioned medium of human fibroblasts. pH versus activity profiles of conditioned medium with GM3 as substrate suggested the presence of two sialidases with optimal activities at pH 4.5 and pH 6.5. The GM3 sialidase activity at pH 6.5 was suppressed in the medium of contact-inhibited cells. This sialidase may function in the metabolism of cell surface GM3 since there was a selective loss of labeled sialic acid from GM3 at different times of incubation after pulse-labeling with a radioactive sialic acid precursor ([3H]N-acetyl-mannosamine) and a radioactive ceramide precursor ([14C]serine). In addition, a sialidase inhibitor, 2-deoxy-2, 3-dehydro-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (NeuAc-2-en) resulted in a reversible growth inhibitory effect and the suppression of the sialidase activity in the medium. We have speculated that GM3 hydrolysis on the cell surface by the sialidase may be coordinated with the cell cycle and may be at its maximum during early in the G1 phase.

Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS): analysis of complex carbohydrate chains of tissue kallikreins.

Molecular ions and fragment ions of underivatized and permethylated oligosaccharides derived from human urinary kallikrein and some model glycoproteins gave information about the sugar composition and arrangement of sugars. These ions were conveniently created by FAB-MS in a JEOL JMS-HX110 high field high resolution mass spectrometer. Glycoprotein samples were digested with N-glycanase and the asparagine(Asn)-linked oligosaccharides were separated from polypeptides by Sephadex G-50 chromatography. The mixture of oligosaccharides was converted to the reduced p-aminobenzoic ethyl ester (ABEE) derivative and the components separated by HPLC on an ion-exchange (AX-10) column. Individual components were analyzed by negative FAB-MS using glycerol as a matrix. Permethylated oligosaccharides were also analyzed by positive FAB-MS.