Metabolomics profiling reveals new aspects of dolichol biosynthesis in Plasmodium falciparum.

The cis-polyisoprenoid lipids namely polyprenols, dolichols and their derivatives are linear polymers of several isoprene units. In eukaryotes, polyprenols and dolichols are synthesized as a mixture of four or more homologues of different length with one or two predominant species with sizes varying among organisms. Interestingly, co-occurrence of polyprenols and dolichols, i.e. detection of a dolichol along with significant levels of its precursor polyprenol, are unusual in eukaryotic cells. Our metabolomics studies revealed that cis-polyisoprenoids are more diverse in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum than previously postulated as we uncovered active de novo biosynthesis and substantial levels of accumulation of polyprenols and dolichols of 15 to 19 isoprene units. A distinctive polyprenol and dolichol profile both within the intraerythrocytic asexual cycle and between asexual and gametocyte stages was observed suggesting that cis-polyisoprenoid biosynthesis changes throughout parasite's development. Moreover, we confirmed the presence of an active cis-prenyltransferase (PfCPT) and that dolichol biosynthesis occurs via reduction of the polyprenol to dolichol by an active polyprenol reductase (PfPPRD) in the malaria parasite.

Separation of polyprenol and dolichol by monolithic silica capillary column chromatography.

We attempted an analysis of naturally occurring polyprenol and dolichol using a monolithic silica capillary column in HPLC. First, the separation of the polyprenol mixture alone was performed using a 250 x 0.2 mm inner diameter (ID) octadecylsilyl (ODS)-monolithic silica capillary column. The resolution of the separation between octadecaprenol (prenol 18) and nonadecaprenol (prenol 19) exceeded by >or=2-fold the level recorded when using a conventional ODS-silica particle-packed column (250 x 4.6 mm ID) under the same elution conditions. Next, the mixture of the prenol type (polyprenol) and dolichol type (dihydropolyprenol) was subjected to this capillary HPLC system, and the separation of each homolog was successfully achieved. During the analysis of polyprenol fraction derived from Eucommia ulmoides leaves, dolichols were found as a single peak, including all-trans-polyprenol and cis-polyprenol previously identified. This sensitive high-resolution system is very useful for the analysis of compounds that are structurally close to polyprenols and dolichols and that have a low content.

Dolichols of the fern Matteucia struthiopteris.

Dolichols isolated from leaves of the fern Matteucia struthiopteris were present as a mixture of prenologues composed of 14 up to 20 isoprene units with Dol-16 dominating. They comprised approximately 0.004% of the fresh weight of fresh plant tissue and were accompanied by traces of polyprenols (Pren-14 up to Pren-17, Pren-16 dominating). Their structure was confirmed by electropray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). This is the first time that dolichols have been reported as dominating polyisoprenoid alcohols in plant photosynthetic tissue.

Single polyprenol and dolichol isolation by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography technique.

A new method of separation of single polyprenols (or dolichols) from a mixture of isoprenoid alcohols is described. Application of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) apparatus equipped with a semipreparative ODS column resulted in preparation of long-chain (dihydro)polyprenols of high purity (>95%). This approach substantially decreases the time scale of the conventional chromatographical preparative procedure. The method can be widely used in chemical and biochemical projects, where single polyprenols or dolichols are required.

Influence of dolichol on microsomal membrane functions.

Microsomal membranes from rat liver were extracted with n-pentane in order to remove the lipid products of the mevalonate pathway, dolichol, ubiquinone and cholesterol. Dolichol and cholesterol were subsequently reincorporated into these extracted membranes. Electron microscopic examination demonstrated that extraction did not alter the vesicular membrane structure of the microsomes. The extracted vesicles were permeable to uncharged molecules in the same manner as control microsomes but had an increased permeability for charged molecules. Enzyme denaturation was not observed. The contraction of extracted vesicles was greatly increased when the incubation medium was supplemented with non-penetrating compounds such as polyethylene glycol and was much greater than that of control microsomes. When extracted membranes were reconstituted with dolichol or cholesterol, the original lower degree of contraction was reestablished. The effects of dolichol reincorporation on a number of microsomal enzyme activities were investigated and some limited changes were observed. These results demonstrate that extraction of microsomes with n-pentane and subsequent reincorporation of dolichol is an effective approach for investigating the functions of this lipid. Dolichol and cholesterol both affect microsomal membrane fluidity, but only cholesterol modifies the activities of certain integral microsomal membrane enzymes to a larger extent.

Enzymatic formation of dehydrodolichal and dolichal, new products related to yeast dolichol biosynthesis.

Two new polyprenyl products in addition to dehydrodolichol and dolichol were detected by two-plate silica gel thin layer chromatography of nonpolar products formed from [1-14C]isopentenyl diphosphate and farnesyl diphosphate in the reaction with a crude 1,000 x g supernatant of yeast homogenates in the presence of NADPH. The new products were indistinguishable from authentic dehydrodolichal and dolichal. Analyses of the time-dependent and pH-dependent formation of the four products including dehydrodolichal and dolichal suggested that the biosynthetic pathway from dehydrodolichol leading to dolichal is different from that to dolichol. In double-labeled experiments with a combination of -l-14C-isopentenyl diphosphate and a [4B-3H]NADPH-generating system, the ratio of 3H- and 14C-derived radioactivities found in dolichal was six times higher than that in dolichol. A small amount of 3H-labeled dehydrodolichol was also detected. Considering the fact that dolichol is synthesized from dehydrodolichol (Sagami, H., Kurisaki, A., and Ogura, K. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 10109-10113), we propose that dehydrodolichol is a common branch point intermediate in the biosynthetic pathways leading to dolichal and dolichol and that dehydrodolichal is an intermediate in the pathway from dehydrodolichol to dolichal.

Simultaneous reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of non-polar isoprenoid lipids and their determination.

A procedure for the rapid identification and determination of non-polar isoprenoid lipids from animal tissues was developed. The complete determination can be carried out by reversed-phase HPLC of just two samples. The first, extracted from unaltered tissues and suitably processed by column chromatography, provides information about free cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, coenzymes Q, free dolichols and dolichyl esters. The second, obtained from saponified tissues, can be used to detect both total cholesterol and total dolichols. Specific calibration graphs were constructed for the determination of the different constituents.

Separation of dolichol from dehydrodolichol by a simple two-plate thin-layer chromatography.

A novel thin-layer chromatographic procedure was devised to separate dolichol and dehydrodolichol from each other with the concomitant separation of each family with respect to the carbon chain length. This method involves development of the polyprenols successively on two different plates, a silica gel plate and a reversed-phase plate.

Separation and purification of dolichol and dolichyl phosphate by anion-exchange paper chromatography: application to cultured cells.

Dolichyl phosphate, dolichol C80-105 (dolichol 17:dihydroheptadecaprenol-dolichol 21:dihydrohexeicosaprenol), and dolichol C55 (dolichol 11:dihydroundecaprenol) were separated by anion-exchange paper chromatography. Squalene, sterols, phospholipids, anionic glycolipids, and glycerol did not migrate as dolichyl phosphate, dolichol C80-105, and dolichol C55 under our elution conditions. However, since the Rf of triglycerides was similar to that of dolichol C80-105, saponification, prior to chromatography, removed traces of triglycerides. Silica gel thin-layer chromatography (TLC) allowed the separation of dolichol C80-105 from dolichol C55, whereas dolichyl phosphate was eluted with other lipids. Incubation of spontaneously transformed cells derived from rat astrocytes primary cultures with [2-14C]acetate, saponification of the extracted lipids, and anion-exchange paper chromatography revealed the presence of radioactive dolichyl phosphate and dolichol C80-105 (15 pmol/mg protein). Extraction of labeled dolichyl phosphate followed by acid phosphatase treatment and subsequent analysis on TLC confirmed the identity of dolichyl phosphate since all the radioactivity was associated with dolichol C55. Treatment of the transformed cells with 30 microM 7-ketocholesterol or 7 beta-hydroxycholesterol stimulated markedly (two- to threefold) the incorporation of [2-14C]-acetate in both dolichol C80-105 and dolichyl phosphate. These data demonstrate that anion-exchange paper chromatography is technically suitable for the separation and analysis of dolichol C55, dolichol C80-105, and dolichyl phosphate in cultured cells prelabeled with radioactive precursors.

Lipid abnormalities in the brain in adult Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.

Quantitative analysis by HPTLC of the major lipid classes and dolichol, and of fatty acyl groups of separated phosphoglycerides by capillary GLC, has been carried out on the gray matter of frontal cerebral cortex of brains from six Down's syndrome (DS) and six Alzheimer's disease (AD) adults, and six each of two corresponding sets of age-matched controls; specimens of DS and control cerebellum and corpus callosum were also analyzed. In DS frontal cortex, but not in AD frontal cortex, compared to their respective controls there was a decrease in the fraction of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and an increase in the fractions of sphingomyelin (SPM) and phosphatidylserine (PS). Abnormalities were not found in the proportions of major lipid classes in DS cerebellum or corpus callosum. The concentration of dolichol was elevated for age in the frontal cortex of DS and of AD. In the phosphoglycerides of DS frontal cortex, the fatty acyl composition showed small, but statistically significant, differences from those of age-matched controls, and some slight abnormalities were also detected in DS corpus callosum. The alterations in DS frontal cortex included decreases in (n-6) and increases in (n-3) groups in choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides (CPG and EPG), as had previously been found in EPG and serine phosphoglyceride (SPG) of the DS fetal brain. In DS frontal cortex, the proportion of 22:4(n-6) groups was decreased in SPG, and in inositol phosphoglyceride (IPG) 18:1(n-9) was increased. There were also small but significant alterations in DS frontal cortex in the fractions of shorter chain groups in CPG. In marked contrast, most of the fatty acyl abnormalities seen in DS were absent in the AD frontal cortex. It is therefore suggested that some abnormalities in the composition of cerebral membranes present prenatally in DS may persist into adulthood, and are not directly related to AD-type pathology.

A rapid procedure for the separation and analysis of metabolites of the sterol and dolichol pathways.

We have previously shown that of several methods examined, the maximum yield of dolichyl phosphate (Dol-P) from rat liver was achieved by saponification of the tissue and subsequent extraction with diethyl ether (R.K. Keller et al. (1985) Anal. Biochem. 147, 166-173). In the present report, we have developed a rapid procedure using non-toxic solvents which resolves the ether extract on a C18 cartridge column into four major fractions: (1) fatty acids; (2) squalene and sterols; (3) dolichol; (4) Dol-P. The utility of the new procedure was demonstrated by preparing the four fractions from liver slices which had been incubated with [3H]acetate. HPLC analysis of the sterol, dolichol and Dol-P fractions yielded well resolved elution profiles, thereby allowing determination of radioactivity incorporated into the major isoprenoids and their metabolites.

Biosynthesis of dolichol by rat liver peroxisomes.

The ability of peroxisomes and microsomes to synthesize dolichol from [3H]mevalonate, [3H]isopentenyl-P2 or [3H]farnesyl-P2 in vitro was investigated. It was found that isoprenoid biosynthesis also occurs in peroxisomes and that this process demonstrates properties differing from those of isoprenoid biosynthesis by microsomes. The pH optimum in peroxisomes was 8.0 and, in contrast to microsomes, the peroxisomal biosynthesis was largely insensitive to detergents. After treatment with proteolytic enzymes, microsomes lost their capacity to incorporate [3H]mevalonate into dolichol, whereas proteolysis of intact peroxisomes did not influence their corresponding rate of incorporation. The soluble content of peroxisomes was separated from the membranes and found to demonstrate half of the biosynthetic capacity of the intact organelle. Fasting and cholestyramine treatment decreased only the microsomal incorporation of [3H]mevalonate into dolichol, while treatment with clofibrate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate or phenobarbital increased microsomal, but decreased peroxisomal labeling. After injection of [3H]mevalonate into the portal vein of rats, high initial labeling of dolichol was recovered both in isolated microsomes and peroxisomes, whereas when [3H]glycerol was administered, peroxisomal phospholipids became labeled later than the corresponding microsomal constituents. These results support the conclusion that dolichol is synthesized both in peroxisomes and the endoplasmic reticulum, but that the biosynthetic processes at these two locations have different properties.

Differential effect of inflammation and dexamethasone on dolichol and dolichol phosphate synthesis.

Inflammation and glucocorticoids stimulate hepatic glycoprotein synthesis, resulting in an increased secretion of serum glycoproteins. We now present evidence that the synthesis of dolichol and dolichol phosphate from mevalonate is increased in hepatocytes from inflamed rats. Also, in inflamed rats, the levels of dolichol and dolichol phosphate are increased in liver homogenates and microsomes. Dexamethasone treatment of the cells, however, does not increase the synthesis of dolichol and dolichol phosphate from mevalonate. The results suggest that the inflammation-induced dolichol-linked saccharide and glycoprotein synthesis is possibly mediated through an increase in the level of dolichol and dolichol phosphate in the liver. Since dexamethasone treatment does not increase the synthesis of dolichol and dolichol phosphate, its action on glycoprotein synthesis appears to be different and to affect the induction of enzymes in mannosyl phosphoryl dolichol- and dolichol-linked oligosaccharide synthesis.

Extraction and quantitation of total cholesterol, dolichol and dolichyl phosphate from mammalian liver.

A procedure is described for the determination of total cholesterol, dolichol and dolichyl phosphate (Dol-P) in mammalian liver. It is based on extraction of these compounds into diethyl ether after alkaline saponification of the tissue. Extractability is affected by the length of saponification and concentration of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in the saponification mixture. After extraction, total cholesterol and dolichol are quantitated directly by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) on C18. Dol-P requires further purification before quantitation by HPLC, this is accomplished by chromatography on silicic acid. These methods gave recoveries of over 90% for cholesterol and dolichol and about 60% for Dol-P, using [4-14C]cholesterol, a polyprenol containing 15 isoprene units, and [1-14C]Dol-P as recovery standards. Concentrations of total cholesterol, dolichol and Dol-P in livers from one month-old-CBA mice were found to be 5.7 +/- 0.7 mg/g, 66.3 +/- 1.2 micrograms/g and 3.7 +/- 0.3 micrograms/g, respectively.

Liquid-chromatographic determination of dolichols in urine.

A reversed-phase "high-performance" liquid chromatographic assay for dolichols-18, -19 and -20 in urine is described. Dolichols are extracted from urine by using C18 cartridges and are chromatographed with a mobile phase consisting of 2-propanol/methanol, the effluent being monitored at 210 nm. The useful lower limit of sensitivity for quantification is 4 pmol (5 ng) of each dolichol per 5-microL injection, corresponding to 1.6 nmol (2 ng) per liter of urine. Heneicosaprenol is satisfactory as the internal standard. Peak heights and the amounts of dolichols applied to the column are linearly related from 4 to 110 pmol. Mean analytical recovery was 71%. For three different concentrations the mean within-assay CV was 6.4%, the between-assay CV 11%. The normal reference interval of total dolichols found for healthy adults was 17-101 micrograms/24 h (n = 30) or 1.9-11 micrograms per millimole of creatinine (n = 39). I determined the distribution of the main dolichols in urine and applied the assay also for samples from alcoholics.

Separation of some neutral lipids by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on a cyanopropyl column: ubiquinone, dolichol, and cholesterol levels in sheep liver.

The normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of neutral lipids into molecular classes was carried out on a cyanopropyl (CN) column eluted with isopropanol in hexane. Cholesteryl, retinyl, and dolichyl esters, triglycerides and vitamin E, ubiquinone, dolichol, phytol, and cholesterol eluted as separate peaks with 0.05% isopropanol in hexane. Cholesterol, retinol, diglyceride, and monoglyceride eluted as separate peaks with 0.75% isopropanol in hexane. These separations could not be achieved on a silica gel column. The method was used to assay sheep liver ubiquinone, dolichol, and cholesterol levels, that were determined as 77, 108 and 1864 micrograms/g wet wt, respectively.

Separation of dolichol and dolichyl-P in microsomal and lysosomal compartments of hepatocytes.

The distribution, labeling and interrelationship of microsomal and lysosomal dolichol and dolichyl-P in rat liver was investigated. After membrane induction with phenobarbital, N-nitrosodiethylamine and diethylhexylphthalate, the amount of microsomal and lysosomal dolichols are modulated independently. Liposomal labeled dolichol injected into the portal vein appears only in lysosomes and even after 8 days is still limited to the lysosomes. After in vivo labeling with [3H]mevalonate, high initial labeling of dolichol and dolichyl-P is present in microsomes and the labeling in microsomes is greater than that in lysosomes even after 8 h. The results demonstrate compartmentalization of the intracellular dolichols in hepatocytes. These lipids may have independent roles at different membrane locations.