Oligosaccharide binding characteristics of the molecular chaperones calnexin and calreticulin.

Calnexin and calreticulin are homologous molecular chaperones of the endoplasmic reticulum. Their binding to newly synthesized glycoproteins is mediated, at least in part, by a lectin site that recognizes the early N-linked oligosaccharide processing intermediate, Glc1Man9GlcNAc2. We compared the oligosaccharide binding specificities of calnexin and calreticulin in an effort to determine the basis for reported differences in their association with various glycoproteins. Using mono-, di-, and oligosaccharides to inhibit the binding of Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 to calreticulin and to a truncated, soluble form of calnexin, we show that the entire Glc alpha 1-3Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-2Man structure, extending from the alpha 1-3 branch point of the oligosaccharide core, is recognized by both proteins. Furthermore, analysis of the binding of monoglucosylated oligosaccharides containing progressively fewer mannose residues suggests that for both proteins the alpha 1-6 mannose branch point of the oligosaccharide core is also essential for recognition. Consistent with their essentially identical substrate specificities, calnexin and calreticulin exhibited the same relative affinities when competing for binding to the Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide. Thus, differential glycoprotein binding cannot be attributed to differences in the lectin specificities or binding affinities of calnexin and calreticulin. We also examined the effects of ATP, calcium, and disulfide reduction on the lectin properties of calnexin and calreticulin. Whereas oligosaccharide binding was only slightly enhanced for both proteins in the presence of high concentrations of a number of adenosine nucleotides, removal of bound calcium abrogated oligosaccharide binding, an effect that was largely reversible upon readdition of calcium. Disulfide reduction had no effect on oligosaccharide binding by calnexin, but binding by calreticulin was inhibited by 70%. Finally, deletion mutagenesis of calnexin and calreticulin identified a central proline-rich region characterized by two tandem repeat motifs as a segment capable of binding oligosaccharide. This segment bears no sequence homology to the carbohydrate recognition domains of other lectins.

Peptide presentation by MHC class I molecules.

The presentation of peptides by class I histocompatibility molecules plays a central role in the cellular immune response to virally infected or transformed cells. The main steps in this process include the degradation of both self and 'foreign' proteins to short peptides in the cytosol, translocation of peptides into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum, binding of a subset of peptides to assembling class I molecules and expression of class-I-peptide complexes at the cell surface for examination by cytotoxic T cells. A molecular understanding of most of these steps is emerging, revealing a remarkable coordination between the processes of peptide translocation, delivery and binding to class I molecules.

The molecular chaperone calnexin facilitates folding and assembly of class I histocompatibility molecules.

Calnexin, a membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum, is generally thought to function as a molecular chaperone, based on indirect or correlative evidence. To examine calnexin's functions more directly, we reconstituted the assembly of class I histocompatibility molecules in the absence or presence of calnexin in Drosophila melanogaster cells. Calnexin enhanced the assembly of class I heavy chains with beta 2-microglobulin as much as 5-fold. The improved assembly appeared largely due to more efficient folding of heavy chains, as evidenced by increased reactivity with a conformation-sensitive monoclonal antibody and by a reduction in the level of aggregates. Similar findings were obtained in mouse or human cells when the interaction of calnexin with class I heavy chains was prevented by treatment with the oligosaccharide processing inhibitor castanospermine. The ability of calnexin to facilitate castanospermine. The ability of calnexin to facilitate heavy chain folding and to prevent the formation of aggregates provides compelling evidence that calnexin functions as a bona fide molecular chaperone.

The molecular chaperone calnexin binds Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide as an initial step in recognizing unfolded glycoproteins.

Calnexin is a molecular chaperone that resides in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Most proteins that calnexin binds are N-glycosylated, and treatment of cells with tunicamycin or inhibitors of initial glucose trimming steps interferes with calnexin binding. To test if calnexin is a lectin that binds early oligosaccharide processing intermediates, a recombinant soluble calnexin was created. Incubation of soluble calnexin with a mixture of Glc0-3Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharides resulted in specific binding of the Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 species. Furthermore, Glc1Man5-7GlcNAc2 oligosaccharides bound relatively poorly, suggesting that, in addition to a requirement for the single terminal glucose residue, at least one of the terminal mannose residues was important for binding. To assess the involvement of oligosaccharide-protein interactions in complexes of calnexin and newly synthesized glycoproteins, alpha 1-antitrypsin or the heavy chain of the class I histocompatibility molecule were purified as complexes with calnexin and digested with endoglycosidase H. All oligosaccharides on either glycoprotein were accessible to this probe and could be removed without disrupting the association with calnexin. Furthermore, the addition of 1 M alpha-methyl glucoside or alpha-methyl mannoside had no effect on complex stability. These findings suggest that once complexes between calnexin and glycoproteins are formed, oligosaccharide binding does not contribute significantly to the overall interaction. However, it is likely that the binding of Glc1Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharides is a crucial event during the initial recognition of newly synthesized glycoproteins by calnexin.

The 3' untranslated region of bovine preprolactin contains a transferable non-poly(A) mRNA sequence that prolongs translation.

Preprolactin transcripts, synthesized in vitro, were actively translated for a prolonged period when injected into Xenopus oocytes. As a result, prolactin continued to be secreted into the media for up to 6 days after injection of the transcript. To investigate the role of the preprolactin 3' untranslated sequence in stabilizing transcripts, it was fused to coding regions derived from signal recognition particle receptor alpha-subunit or preproinsulin receptor. The translational half-life of the chimeric RNA was increased for both coding regions, suggesting that a sequence within the preprolactin 3' untranslated region that prolongs translation is transferable. Deletion mutagenesis of this untranslated region demonstrated that a sequence of 98 nucleotides immediately following the prolactin stop codon was sufficient to prolong translation of RNAs injected into Xenopus oocytes.

Delivery of a secretable adenosine deaminase through microcapsules--a novel approach to somatic gene therapy.

Many current gene therapy protocols require genetic modification of autologous cells. An alternate approach is to use universal recombinant cell lines engineered to secrete in vivo the desired gene products. Enclosing these cells within immunoprotective devices before implantation would prevent rejection of the nonautologous donor cells. To overcome the limitation that not all therapeutic gene products are secreted, we now propose to fuse a signal sequence to the amino terminus of a nonsecreted protein such as human adenosine deaminase (ADA), thus directing the product into a secretory pathway for release from the cells. A fusion gene constructed between the cDNA of the beta-lactamase signal sequence and human ADA expressed a product after in vitro transcription and translation that was immunologically similar to the human protein. Mouse fibroblasts transfected with the fusion gene demonstrated secreted ADA activity that resembled the human cytosolic enzyme in its heat stability, pH optimum, KM, electrophoretic mobility, and immunologic reactivity. Hence, the secreted enzyme expressed from the fusion gene is antigenically and enzymatically similar to the authentic human form. When transfected mouse fibroblasts or myoblasts were enclosed in permselective alginate-poly-L-lysine alginate microcapsules, ADA activity was secreted from the microcapsules and the cells remained viable for over 5 months. Hence, a secretable and functional human ADA has been constructed that can be delivered from recombinant cells within immunoprotective capsules. The success of this strategy provides the prototype for engineering nonsecreted gene products for therapy via this novel method of somatic gene therapy.