Activity and characterization of sialyltransferase from serum of normal rats, of rats bearing Zajdela ascitic hepatoma, in normal host liver and in Zajdela hepatoma cells.

Comparative studies on the content of sialic acid and on the sialyltransferase activity in normal serum and in serum of rats with Zajdela ascitic hepatoma in different phases of tumor development have been conducted. Unlike the serum from animals with tumors, in which the sialic acid quantity increases in dependence of the stage of tumor development, the activity of serum sialyltransferase statistically augmented only in serum of rats at the final stage of tumor progression. The sialyltransferase activity towards asialofetuin as an acceptor in normal liver and in Zajdela hepatoma cells, was measured and a decrease in this activity in tumor cells as well as in host liver was found. When lactose was used as acceptor, again lower enzyme activity in the tumor cells in comparison with that in liver was established, but in liver and in hepatoma cells the predominant 14C-labelled product of the sialyltransferase assay was alpha (2-6) sialyllactose isomer. The results contribute to the biochemical characterization of rat Zajdela hepatoma.

Scaled-up expression of human alpha 2,6(N)sialyltransferase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Expression of recombinant full length human alpha 2,6(N)sialyltransferase has been scaled-up in S. cerevisiae in a 150-l bioreactor yielding 47 U at a concentration of 0.31 U/l. The protein specific activity as measured in reconstituted yeast lyophilisate was 0.8 mU/mg protein. The recombinant enzyme exhibited similar Michaelis constants as previously determined for the native rat enzyme. By immunoblotting the enzyme was shown to be heterogeneous by size (44-48 kD) and N-glycosylated. We conclude that recombinant alpha 2,6(N)sialyltransferase expressed in S. cerevisiae is retained in the endoplasmic reticulum as a fully active enzyme.

Human beta 1,4 galactosyltransferase and alpha 2,6 sialyltransferase expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are retained as active enzymes in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Biosynthesis and intracellular transport of recombinant human full-length beta 1,4 galactosyltransferase (GT) and full-length alpha 2,6 sialyltransferase (ST) were investigated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recently, enzymic activity of recombinant GT (rGT) in crude homogenates of S. cerevisiae could successfully be demonstrated [Krezdorn, C., Watzele, G., Kleene, R. B., Ivanov, S. X. & Berger, E. G. (1993) Eur. J. Biochem. 212, 113-120]. In the present work, we show that, in yeast strains transformed with plasmid pDPSIA containing the cDNA coding for human ST, rST enzymic activity using asialo-fetuin or N-acetyllactosamine as acceptor substrates could readily be detected. Analysis by 1H-NMR spectroscopy of the disaccharide product of rGT, as recently reported, and the trisaccharide product of rST demonstrated that only the expected glycosidic linkages were formed. Following mechanical disruption of yeast cells, both enzymes sedimented with a fraction enriched in membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and were activated by Triton X-100 3-5-fold. rGT and rST could be immunoprecipitated from their [35S]Met-labelled transformed yeast extracts using polyclonal antibodies raised against fusion proteins consisting of beta-galactosidase-GT or beta-galactosidase-ST, respectively, expressed in Escherichia coli. For rGT a single glycosylated form of apparent molecular mass 48 kDa was reported, but for rST two main bands corresponding to apparent molecular masses of 48 kDa and 44 kDa, respectively, were detected. Immunoprecipitation from either tunicamycin-treated [35S]Met-labelled transformed yeast cells or labelling with radio-active sugars both indicated that the 44-kDa form of rST was non-glycosylated and that the 48-kDa form of rST was core N-glycosylated. In addition, core glycosylation of both recombinant enzymes demonstrated that they were competent for translocation across the ER membranes. However, the 44-kDa form of rST was converted to the 48-kDa glycosylated form only slowly, suggesting a mechanism of posttranslational translocation. Absence of hyperglycosylation of rST and rGT in wild type and lack of the Golgi-specific man-alpha 1,6-man epitope suggest that the recombinant enzymes did not enter the yeast Golgi apparatus. These results indicated that both rGT and rST are retained as enzymically active enzymes in the ER of yeast and suggest a ribonucleoprotein-independent import of rST into the ER.

Purification and characterization of recombinant human beta 1-4 galactosyltransferase expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A protease-defective strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BT 150) was used to express full-length cDNA of HeLa cell beta-D-N-acetylglucosaminide-beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase (gal-T). To ascertain import of the recombinant gal-T into the secretory pathway of yeast cells, metabolically labeled enzyme was immunoprecipitated from extracts of yeast transformants, analysed by SDS/PAGE/fluorography and tested for sensitivity to treatment with endoglycosidase-H. Untreated recombinant gal-T had an apparent molecular mass of 48 kDa, which was reduced to 47 kDa after treatment, indicating that the recombinant enzyme was N-glycosylated and, therefore, competent for translocation across the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. Using specific gal-T assays employing N-acetylglucosamine or glucose in combination with alpha-lactalbumin as exogenous acceptor substrates, recombinant gal-T enzyme activity could readily be detected in crude homogenates. Analysis of the disaccharide products by 1H-NMR spectroscopy demonstrated that only beta-1-4 linkages were formed by the recombinant gal-T. The recombinant gal-T was detergent solubilized and subsequently purified by affinity chromatography on N-acetylglucosamine-derivatized Sepharose followed by alpha-lactalbumin-Sepharose. The purified enzyme preparation had a specific activity comparable to that of the soluble gal-T isolated from human milk. Furthermore, kinetic parameters determined for both acceptor and donor substrates of both enzymes differed only slightly. This work shows that yeast provides an appropriate host system for the heterologous expression of mammalian glycosyltransferases.

Pattern of sialoglycoproteins obtained by chromatofocusing of chicken liver and hepatoma Mc-29 microsomal preparations labelled in vivo with 3H-leucine and N-acetyl-14C-mannosamine.

Chromatofocusing has been used for separation of chicken liver and virus-induced hepatoma Mc-29 microsomal glycoproteins double labelled in vivo with 3H-leucine and N-acetyl-14C-mannosamine. The sialoglycoprotein profile was obtained by plotting the pH-values, as well as the values of the calculated specific activity (SA-cpm/mg protein) in each fraction, in the graphs. Different patterns for liver and hepatoma sialoglycoproteins were detected. Unlike liver microsomes in which the highest labelled compounds were registered in the alkaline zone of the pH-gradient, special feature for the hepatoma sialoglycoprotein pattern was the presence of highly labelled fraction eluted in the acidic zone of the pH-gradient. A term named "sialylation rate" of a separated sialoglycoproteins was involved. It has been found that liver sialoglycoproteins are more or less uniformly sialylated, independently of the pI-values, while those from hepatoma with acidic pI were sialylated at a higher extent in comparison to the fractions with alkaline pI.

Partial characterization of microsomal sialyltransferase from chicken liver and hepatoma Mc-29: I. Effect of nucleotides and metal ions.

CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid: glycoprotein sialyltransferase activities were assayed in microsomal fractions from chicken liver and hepatoma, induced by the leukosis virus strain Mc-29, using asialofetuin as the substrate acceptor of N-acetylneuraminic acid. The effect of some nucleotides and metal ions on the enzyme activity was investigated. Kinetic studies revealed that the Km values toward asialofetuin at a saturation concentrations of CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid for both liver and hepatoma enzymes are very closed, while V value was lower for the tumor enzyme. The liver and hepatoma enzymes have no exogenous Mn cations requirement and are inhibited by CTP, CMP and ATP. CMP was shown to act as a competitive inhibitor with an apparent Ki of 0.24 mM for the liver and 0.16 mM for hepatoma enzyme, respectively.

Partial characterization of microsomal sialyltransferase from chicken liver and hepatoma Mc-29: II. Measurement of enzyme activities utilizing microsomal glycoproteins as exogenous acceptors.

Microsomal sialyltransferase was assayed in chicken liver and hepatoma Mc-29 utilizing liver and hepatoma microsomal glycoprotein fractions, treated with Triton X-100, as exogenous acceptors. In a homologous assay system containing enzyme and acceptor from one and the same tissue no quantitative dependence of enzyme activity was revealed with increasing amount of the acceptor. In mixed experiments in which liver enzyme activity was tested towards hepatoma acceptor glycoproteins, a gradual drop in sialyltransferase activity occurred with increasing quantities of the acceptor. This effect seems to be a consequence of the presence of some inhibitor in the microsomal fractions from the hepatoma cells.

A comparison of galactosyltransferase activity in mouse ascites lymphoma cells (Ly/Ya), in cultured lymphoma cells, in ascitic fluid and culture medium.

Comparative studies were carried out on the galactosyltransferase activity in ascites lymphoma cells isolated from mouse with ascitic lymphoma Ly/Ya, in these cells grown in vitro (24 hrs culture), in ascitic fluid and culture medium. The effect of varying amounts of UDP-galactose on transfer rate of galactose to ovomucoid by the cell enzyme (ascitic and cultured lymphoma cells) and by the soluble enzyme (ascitic fluid and culture medium) was studied. The activity of the enzyme in the cell culture medium was 2.5-fold higher than that in ascitic fluid. The apparent Km values for UDP-galactose of the enzyme from both kinds of cells and from the two fluids was 7.14 x 10(-7) M. At saturating concentrations of donor substrate, V values for the cells and culture medium was 765 pmoles/10(6) cells/h and 180 pmoles/10(6) cells/h for the ascitic fluid.