Sialidase gene transfection enhances epidermal growth factor receptor activity in an epidermoid carcinoma cell line, A431.

Glycosphingolipids expressed in cancer cells have been implicated in the modulation of tumor cell growth through their interaction with transmembrane signaling molecules such as growth factor receptors. For glycosphingolipids to interact with growth factor receptors, the presence of sialic acid seems to be essential. Stable transfection of a gene encoding a soluble Mr 42,000 sialidase into a human epidermoid carcinoma cell line (A431) provided an approach by which the level of terminal lipid-bound sialic acid on the cell surface could be altered. In the sialidase-positive clones, the level of ganglioside GM3 was diminished, and little change was observed in protein sialylation. Sialidase-transfected cells grew faster than control cells. Sialidase expression did not modify the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to its receptor but enhanced EGF receptor (EGFR) tyrosine autophosphorylation as compared to that of parental cells or cells transfected with the vector (pcDNA3) alone. Moreover, the phosphorylation of the EGFR, as well as other protein substrates, was observed at low EGF concentrations, suggesting an increase in the receptor kinase sensitivity. These data provided evidence that changes in ganglioside expression in cancer cells by appropriate gene transfection can dramatically affect EGFR kinase activity. Hence, the modulation of ganglioside expression may represent an approach to alter tumor cell growth.

Partial characterization of the bile salt-dependent triacylglycerol lipase from the leopard shark pancreas.

Leopard shark triacylglycerol lipase has been characterized as a crude pancreatic preparation. The enzyme demonstrated an absolute requirement for trihydroxy bile salts for activity with natural bile salts of the shark giving a 4-fold greater stimulation of activity than pure sodium taurocholate. Bile salts also protected the enzyme from apparent inactivation by p-chloromercuribenzoate and trypsin treatment. The shark lipase demonstrated a temperature optimum of 36 degrees C and was rapidly inactivated at 50 degrees C even in the presence of bile salts. Divalent metal ions were required for activity with Ca2+ providing the greatest stimulation. At 22 degrees C, pH 8.5 and in the presence of natural bile salts, the apparent V was about 0.6 mumol fatty acid released/min per mg protein. The shark enzyme hydrolyzed over 90% of the fatty acids from trioleovylglycerol and methyl esters of pancreatic lipase-resistant fatty acids were hydrolyzed at the same rate as typical fatty acid methyl esters. Hydrolysis of triacylglycerol proceeded about ten-times faster than wax ester hydrolysis. The kinetic properties of the leopard shark enzyme were compared to other bile salt-dependent lipolytic enzymes. Pancreatic lipase activity was not detected.

An improved method for the isolation and assay of the acid lipase from human liver.

An improved method for the isolation and assay of the lysosomal acid lipase from human liver has been developed. Over 90% of the enzymatic activity was extracted in soluble form by brief homogenization of frozen tissue with the nonionic surfactant, Triton X-100. With cholesterol, [1-14C]oleate and 4-methylumbelliferyl plamitate as substrate in emulsions with the amphoteric surfactant, N-tetradecyl-N,N,-dimethyl-3-ammonio-1-propanesulfonate, and ethanol, an apparent V of 1.9 nmol . min-1 . mg-1 protein was obtained with the radioactive substrate and 29 nmol . min-1 . mg-1 protein with the fluorogenic substrate analog, respectively. The released radioactivity-labelled oleic acid was quantitated by selective extraction with a new biphasic solvent system containing carbon tetrachloride and hexane. This assay procedure offers the advantages over other procedures that subcellular fractionation of the tissue is not required for the isolation of the cellular fractionation of the tissue is not required for the isolation of the enzyme; the enzymatic activity toward these emulsions is much greater than previously reported for other methods of substrate solubilization and cholesterol esters with saturated and unsaturated fatty acids can be employed as substrate since both types of fatty acids can be efficiently partitioned and quantitated with this solvent system.

Distribution and localization of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase and N-glycolylneuraminic acid-containing glycoconjugates in porcine lymph node and peripheral blood lymphocytes.

An immunohistochemical analysis was performed on paraplast-embedded sections of porcine lymph node with antibodies specific for CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase (h-3 antibody) and glycoconjugate-bound N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc), which appears as a result of the hydroxylase reaction (a-Gc antibody). The observed localization of the enzyme in cells of the perifollicular zone, including lymphocytes, was reflected in a similar distribution of glycoconjugate-bound Neu5Gc. This result confirms previous biochemical investigations on the role of the hydroxylase in regulating Neu5Gc biosynthesis in vitro on a histological level. An analysis of lymphocytes isolated from porcine thymus, spleen, lymph node and peripheral blood revealed differences in the amount of Neu5Gc in the various lymphocytes that correlated well with the activity of the hydroxylase determined in these cells. The largest amount of Neu5Gc and highest activity of the enzyme were detected in the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Immunohistochemical studies with a-Gc and h-3 antibodies on sections of paraplast-embedded PBL showed that these antigens were located at the cell surface and in the cytosol, respectively. Ultrastructural immunocytochemistry with the h-3 antibody and immunogold labelling was used to investigate the subcellular localization of the hydroxylase. The enzyme was detected in the cytosol in the vicinity of the nuclear membrane and the outer membrane of mitochondria, in particular those close to the nucleus. The antigen was also detected on cytoplasmic tubular structures. In addition, a weak labelling of the Golgi apparatus was also observed occasionally. The possibility that this localization may be related to the availability of the substrate CMP-Neu5Ac and the redox partner cytochrome b5 is discussed.

Diagnosis of GM1 gangliosidosis based on detection of urinary oligosaccharides with high performance liquid chromatography.

An improved, rapid, and sensitive method for the biochemical diagnosis of GM1 gangliosidosis based on the detection and quantification of urinary galactosyl-oligosaccharides with high performance liquid chromatography was developed. The oligosaccharides, in 50-100 microliters of urine, were converted to radioactively labeled oligosaccharide-alditols with NaB3H4 and fractionated on commercial silica-amine bonded, high performance liquid chromatography columns. Delineation between infantile, juvenile, and adult onset subtypes of GM1 gangliosidosis was possible by analysis of the levels of the excreted oligosaccharides and their characteristic elution profile. Infantile and juvenile patients contain identical numbers of oligosaccharide fractions (13 resolved components) but can be distinguished by 3-10-fold lower levels of oligosaccharides in juvenile patients and, in some cases by a disproportionately lower concentration of high molecular weight compounds. Adult onset patients were distinguished by substantially lower concentrations of urinary oligosaccharides, 130-180-fold below those in infantile patients, and the apparent absence of high molecular weight oligosaccharides.

Diagnosis and characterization of GM 2 gangliosidosis type II (Sandhoff disease) by analysis of the accumulating N-acetyl-glucosaminyl oligosaccharides with high performance liquid chromatography.

The N-acetyl-glucosaminyl oligosaccharides excreted in urine and accumulating in tissues of Sandhoff disease patients have been analyzed and characterized using a combination of high performance liquid chromatography and 500 MHz proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Delineation between infantile and juvenile onset forms of the disease was possible, as the latter forms had 6- to 13-fold lower levels of urinary oligosaccharides. Patients from a geographically isolated population deme in the La Rioja region of Argentina had urinary oligosaccharides similar to unrelated non-Argentinean patients with identical clinical phenotype. Together, these results indicate that the urinary oligosaccharides serve as useful indicators of the mutation differences or clinical heterogeneity within this disease only in cases of markedly differing clinical presentation. Analysis of the accumulating metabolites in liver, kidney, pancreas, lung and spleen, showed a similar oligosaccharide pattern which differed dramatically from brain. These results suggest the possibility of tissue specific regulation of oligosaccharide biosynthesis since there are notable differences between neural and visceral tissues.

An azidoaryl thioglycoside of sialic acid. A potential photoaffinity probe of sialidases and sialic acid-binding proteins.

An azidoaryl thioglycoside of sialic acid was prepared, as a potential photoaffinity probe reagent for the analysis of sialidases and sialic acid-binding proteins, by treatment of the glycosyl chloride of N-acetylneuraminic acid methyl ester with potassium thioacetate to give, in 70% yield, methyl 5-acetamido-4,7,8,9-tetra-O-acetyl-2-S-acetyl-2,3,5-trideoxy-2-thio-alph a-D- glycero-D-galacto-2-nonulopyranosonate. Selective hydrolysis of the thioacetate ester, followed by condensation with 4-fluoro-3-nitrophenyl azide, O-deacetylation, and hydrolysis gave (4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)- 5-acetamido-2,3,5-trideoxy-2-thio-alpha-D-glycero-D-galacto-2- nonulopyranosidonic acid.

Distinguishing mammalian sialidases by inhibition kinetics with novel derivatives of 5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-enonic acid, an unsaturated derivative of N-acetylneuraminic acid.

Kinetic analysis of mammalian sialidases was carried out using analogs of the potent sialidase inhibitor, 5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-enonic+ ++ acid (1). Substitutents at C-9 in place of the terminal hydroxyl group included a, 4-azido-2-nitrophenylthio group to give 5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-9-S-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-3,5, 9-trideoxy-9-thio-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-enonic acid (2), and an azide group to give 5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-9-azido-3,5,9-trideoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2 -enonic acid (3). Competitive inhibition kinetics were observed when 1,2, and 3 were tested with the lysosomal sialidase (cultured fibroblasts) and the plasma membrane sialidase (adenovirus DNA-transformed, human embryonic kidney cells), giving a Ki of about 10 microM for both enzymes with all three compounds. In contrast, only 1 was a potent inhibitor of the microsomal sialidase (rat muscle).

A photoreactive competitive inhibitor of the human lysosomal neuraminidase in cultured skin fibroblasts.

A photoreactive, potent, competitive inhibitor of the human lysosomal neuraminidase in cultured skin fibroblasts has been prepared. The starting material, 2,3 dehydro-N-acetyl neuraminic acid methyl ester, was selectively tosylated at the C-9 position with tosyl chloride and subsequently peracetylated with acetic anhydride. The tosyl group was displaced with potassium thio acetate in dimethylformamide at 60 degrees C for 80 min. 4-fluoro-3-nitrophenylazide was incorporated by reaction with the thio acetate product and equimolar sodium methoxide in methanol followed by reacetylation. Base hydrolysis gave the final product, 9-S-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-5-acetamido-2,6 anhydro-2,3,5,9-tetradeoxy-9-thio-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2-enonic acid (W5). The yields at each step were 50-70%. Competitive inhibition kinetics were observed when W5 was tested with the fibroblast neuraminidase using 4-methylumbelliferyl-N-acetyl-neuraminic acid as substrate giving an apparent Ki of about 10 microM. These results suggest that the terminal hydroxyl group at C-9 may not be important in the recognition and binding of the substrate by the enzyme. Also, the compounds prepared here may be useful as photoaffinity probes or ligands for affinity chromatography for purification.

Enhancing therapeutic glycoprotein production in Chinese hamster ovary cells by metabolic engineering endogenous gene control with antisense DNA and gene targeting.

Recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics have proven to be invaluable pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic and life-threatening diseases. Although these molecules are extraordinarily efficacious, many diseases have high dosage requirements of several hundred milligrams of protein for each administration. Multiple doses at this level are often required for treatment. One of the major challenges currently facing the biotechnology industry is the development of large-scale, cost-effective production and manufacturing processes of these biologically synthesized molecules. Metabolic engineering of animal cell expression hosts promises to address this challenge by substantially enhancing recombinant protein quality, productivity, and biological activity. In this report, we describe a novel approach to metabolic engineering in Chinese hamster ovary cells by control of endogenous gene expression. Analysis of the advantages and limitations of using antisense DNA and gene targeting as a means of control are discussed and several gene candidates for regulation with these techniques are identified. Practical considerations for using these technologies to reduce the levels of the CHO cell sialidase (Warner et al., Glycobiology, 3, 455-463, 1993) as a model gene system for regulation are also presented.

Photolysis of the lysosomal neuraminidase in cultured human skin fibroblasts in the presence of a photoreactive competitive inhibitor.

Photolysis of the lysosomal neuraminidase in crude homogenates of cultured human skin fibroblasts was carried out using the potent competitive enzyme inhibitor, 9-S-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-2,3,5,9-tetradeoxy-9 -thio-D - glycero-D-galacto-non-2-enonic acid (9-PANP-2,3-D-NANA). Irradiation of the homogenate and the inhibitor (2 min, pH 4.3, 10 degrees C) with a medium pressure mercury lamp resulted in about a 24% reduction of enzyme activity compared to irradiated controls that did not contain additives. No significant loss of activity was observed with homogenate that contained a photoreactive thioglycoside of sialic acid that was not an inhibitor of the enzyme. Similarly, the enzyme activity was not affected when 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetyl neuraminic acid was photolyzed with the homogenate. The latter is a potent competitive inhibitor but it is not photoreactive. Also, the products obtained by prephotolyzing 9-PANP-2,3-D-NANA gave similar enzyme levels under standard assay conditions when compared with the nonirradiated material. Together, these results demonstrate that the photoinactivation is highly specific and both the aryl azide and the unsaturated pyran portion of the molecule are required for inactivation. The title compound may be useful as a potential photolabeling reagent which may facilitate purification of the enzyme and permit further characterization of the mutation in sialidosis patients.

Action of the highly purified, membrane-bound enzyme phosphatidylserine decarboxylase Escherichia coli toward phosphatidylserine in mixed micelles and erythrocyte ghosts in the presence of surfactant.

Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, Escheichia coli, was purified to near-homogeneity by the procedure of Dowhan, W., Wickner, W. T., and Kennedy, E. P. ((1974) J. Biol. Chem. 249, 3079-3084) and assayed by following the production of CO2 using gas chromatography. The purified enzyme has an absolute requirement for the surfactant Triton X-100. The function of Triton in the assay is evaluated and a kinetic scheme describing the action of this membrane-bound enzyme in the micellar system provided by the surfactant is presented. According to this scheme, the enzyme first binds to a mixed micelle, composed of phosphatidylserine and Triton, where the dissociation constant is KSA. The enzyme, now part of the mixed micelle, then binds the substrate phosphatidylserine in its active site and this binding is related to the Michaelis constant, KMB. KSA, expressed as the sum of the molar concentrations of Triton and phosphatidylserine, is about 0.04 M. KMB, expressed as the mole fraction of phosphatidylserine in the mixed micelles, is about 0.03. Phosphatidylserine decarboxylase activity toward phosphatidylserine in human erythrocyte ghosts was also determined. The amount of phsophatidylserine converted to phosphatidylethanolamine and CO2 was found to be related to the amount of phosphatidylserine solubilized from the membrane by Triton X-100. In the absence of Triton, no significant activity of the enzyme toward the ghosts was detected even after subjecting the ghosts to lyophilization, homogenization, or sonication.

An improved method for the preparation of unsaturated phosphatidylcholines: acylation of sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine in the presence of sodium methylsulfinylmethide.

An improved method for the partial chemical synthesis of unsaturated and radioactively labeled phosphatidylcholines is described. This procedure offers advantages over conventional acylation methods in that it can be carried out on a millimole or micromole scale under mild conditions and it does not require a large excess of the fatty acid acylating reagent. In this procedure sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine is reacted with twice the theoretical amount of fatty acid imidazolide and sodium methylsulfinylmethide in dimethylsulfoxide for several minutes at 17 degrees C. Phosphatidylcholine, which was purified by gradient-elution chromatography on silicic acid, was isolated in 60% yield and was estimated to be about 99% pure. The preparations of 1,2-dioleoyl-, 1,2-dilinoleoyl-, and 1,2-dilinolenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine are described. The reaction was also carried out on a small scale for the preparation of high specific activity 1,2-di[ 1'(-14)C]oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine in 38% yield with a specific activity of about 9.7 muCi/mumol.

New sensitive assay for phosphatidylserine decarboxylase based on the detection of CO2 from nonradiolabeled phosphatidylserine.

A new rapid assay for phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, which is sensitive in the nanomolar range, is described. Synthesis of radiolabeled phosphatidylserine for use as a substrate is not required, since the assay, unlike previous ones, is based on the detection of CO(2) liberated from unlabeled phosphatidylserine. The assay employs a gas chromatographic procedure for the analysis of methane formed by catalytic conversion of the CO(2) produced as a product of the enzymatic reaction.

Stereoselectivity of the Chinese hamster ovary cell sialidase: sialoside hydrolysis with overall retention of configuration.

The stereochemical course of enzymatic hydrolysis by the soluble sialidase from Chinese hamster ovary cells, expressed as a recombinant protein in insect Sf9 cells, was determined using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. 4-Methyl umbelliferyl-N-acetyl neuraminic acid was employed as substrate, and the stereoselectivity of the enzyme catalysis was ascertained by monitoring the H3 axial and equatorial protons of the sialic acid product over the reaction course. At both high (3 U) and low concentrations (1 U) of the enzyme, the alpha anomer of the sialic acid was clearly observed as the initial reaction product. The corresponding beta anomer of sialic acid appeared much later in the reaction, arising from mutarotation of the alpha anomer. Similar studies were also carried out using the Salmonella typhimurium LT 2 sialidase, a protein of similar size and substrate specificity. Both enzymes apparently cleave the alpha linked sialoside substrate with retention of configuration. Based on the observations of a wide variety of other glycohydrolytic enzymes that have shown a strong correlation of the stereoselectivity of catalysis with active site topology (Gebler et al., J. Biol. Chem. 267, 12559-12561, 1992), the results obtained here suggest that the microbial and mammalian sialidases have a homologous active site architecture even though the molecules do not share significant primary sequence similarities.

Sialidosis: delineation of subtypes by neuraminidase assay.

A sensitive assay for acid neuraminidase using 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid is described. In skin fibroblasts, patients with sialidosis Types 1 and 2 have severe deficiencies of neuraminidase activity compared with controls. Patients with Type 1 sialidosis have activities which are 10 times higher than those with Type 2 sialidosis, in keeping with their milder clinical involvement. Two Italian patients with Type I sialidosis had a Km which was one-sixth normal; the other patients had a Km in the normal range.

Phaseolus vulgaris phytohemagglutinin contains high-mannose and modified oligosaccharide chains.

Phytohemagglutinin, the major lectin in the seeds of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L., was isolated by affinity chromatography from cotyledons of nearly mature seeds and from developing cotyledons labeled with [(3)H]glucosamine, [(3)H]mannose or [(3)H]fucose. The protein was subjected to exhaustive proteolysis and the carbohydrate composition of the resulting glycopeptides examined. Two classes of oligosaccharide side-chains were found. The sidechains of the first class are of the high-mannose type, containing two residues of N-acetylglucosamine and 8 or 9 mannose residues. The sidechains of the second class are of the modified type containing N-acetylglucosamine, mannose, fucose, xylose in molar ratios of 2:3.8:0.6:0.5. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows that phytohemagglutinin can be fractionated into seven different glycosylated polypeptides, and that each one contains at least one modified oligosaccharide chain. The results indicate that most glycosylated polypeptides probably contain one chain of each class. The carbohydrate composition of the two types of chains is similar to that found in other plant glycoproteins, but this is the first report of a plant glycoprotein with both highmannose and modified oligosaccharides on the same polypeptide chain.

Cloning and expression of a soluble sialidase from Chinese hamster ovary cells: sequence alignment similarities to bacterial sialidases.

A cDNA encoding a soluble sialidase from Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has been cloned and expressed. Completely degenerate oligonucleotide primers, which were based on the amino acid sequence of peptides obtained from the purified sialidase (Warner et al., Glycobiology, 3, 455-463, 1993), and the polymerase chain reaction, with single-stranded cDNA template, were employed to generate a unique oligonucleotide probe. The unique probe of 93 bp was used for screening a lambda gt 10 CHO cell cDNA library. A single clone, which contained a 1.4 kb insert, was isolated after screening 450,000 recombinants. The complete coding region of the protein, 1137 nucleotides, was contained in the isolated clone and it predicted a protein of 379 amino acids. The insert had a 186 bp 5' non-coding leader sequence and a 40 bp 3' non-coding region. No signal peptide was identified in the insert, suggesting a cytosolic localization for the protein. No significant primary sequence identities were observed when the deduced amino acid sequence of the CHO cell sialidase was compared with other mammalian proteins or microbial sialidases. However, the protein had significant sequence alignment similarity with several bacterial sialidases. Two 'Asp box' motifs in the CHO cell sialidase had a remarkable alignment positioning in the protein sequence with the similar motifs of the Salmonella LT2 and Clostridium perfringens sialidases. High levels of the enzyme were expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda cells infected with a modified Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus harbouring the sialidase cDNA.