Identification of a sperm receptor on the surface of the eggs of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata.

The possibility that the surface of the egg of the sea urchin Arbacia punctulata contains a species-specific receptor for sperm has been investigated. The extent of fertilization of eggs of A. punctulata, which is proportional to the number of sperm, is unaffected by the presence of either eggs or membranes prepared from eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. In marked contrast, membranes prepared from eggs of A. punctulata quantitatively inhibit fertilization of A. punctulata eggs by A. punctulata sperm. Several lines of evidence indicate that this inhibition is due to the presence of a membrane-associated glycoprotein that binds to the sperm, thus preventing them from interacting with receptor on the surface of the eggs. First, eggs treated with trypsin are incapable of being fertilized, although they can be activated with the Ca2+ ionophore A23187. Moreover, membranes prepared from eggs pretreated with trypsin do not inhibit fertilization of eggs. Second, receptor isolated in soluble form from surface membranes binds to sperm and thus prevents them from fertilizing eggs; the inhibition by soluble receptor is species-specific. Third, the soluble receptor binds to concanavalin A-Sepharose. Fourth, eggs are incapable of being fertilized if they are pretreated with concanavalin A. The specificity of inhibition, and the affect of trypsin and concanavalin A on intact eggs, suggest that the receptor is a species-specific macromolecule located on the surface of the eggs. The sensitivity of the receptor to trypsin, and its ability to bind to concanavalin A, indicate that it is a glycoprotein.

Enhancement of protein glycosylation in tissue slices by dolichylphosphate.

Glycosylation of N-linked glycoproteins has been stimulated in hen oviduct and bovine pancreas tissue slices by supplementing the tissue culture media with concentrations of dolichylphosphate from 1-100 micrograms/ml. In oviduct, overall incorporation of radioactive sugars into alkali-stable, hot trichloroacetic acid-precipitable material (N-linked glycoproteins) is stimulated approximately 2-fold in dolichylphosphate-supplemented tissues although no stimulation in protein synthesis is observed. Rather, the elevation in glycosylation seems to be a general one involving many protein acceptors. In vitro analysis of microsomal preparations derived from control or dolichylphosphate-supplemented oviduct tissue slices demonstrated a similar enhancement in glycosylation activities that appears to be attributable to an enhanced level of endogenous dolichylphosphate in the microsomes from supplemented tissues. Additionally, when bovine pancreas tissue slices are preincubated with dolichylphosphate and then doubly labeled with [3H]mannose and 14C-labeled amino acids, a 4-fold increase in the ratio of [3H-mannose to 14C-amino acids in secreted ribonuclease is observed relative to the nonsupplemented control. Furthermore, while only 12% of the ribonuclease secreted from control tissue slices specifically binds to concanavalin A-Sepharose, more than 90% of that secreted by dolichylphosphate-supplemented tissue slices binds to the lectin. These data support the notion that dolichylphosphate availability is a limiting factor in the in vivo glycosylation of proteins in these systems.

The disulfide structure of mouse lysosome-associated membrane protein 1.

The disulfide structure of mouse lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 has been determined by reverse-phase isolation and sequence analysis of the cysteine-containing tryptic fragments of the reduced and non-reduced deglycosylated protein. Half-cystines were distinguished (a) by their localization within tryptic or chymotryptic peptides that formed reverse-phase peaks unique to the reduced digests and (b) by their 3H-carboxymethylation only after reduction of the protein. The disulfide arrangement of the cysteines was assigned after isolation of disulfide-linked peptide pairs. Each pair chromatographed as a peak present in the nonreduced (but not the corresponding reduced) tryptic digest. NH2-terminal sequencing as well as reduction, alkylation, and rechromatography of the disulfide-linked fragments led to the following assignment of disulfide bonds: Cys11 and Cys50, Cys125 and Cys161, Cys198 and Cys235, and Cys303 and Cys340. This structure creates four 36-38-residue loops that are symmetrically placed within the two halves of the protein's intraluminal domain. The loops formed by the Cys11-Cys50 and Cys198-Cys235 bridges are homologous, and the Cys125-Cys161 and Cys303-cys340 loops form a second set of homologous domains. The conservation of cysteine residues among lysosome-associated membrane proteins 1 and 2 suggests that this disulfide arrangement is common to both members of this family of lysosomal membrane glycoproteins.

Fatty acylation of proteins during development of sea urchin embryos.

Developing embryos of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, incorporate [3H]palmitic acid into at least 20 proteins. The [3H]palmitic acid associated with these proteins is released by alkaline hydrolysis or by treatment with hydroxylamine but not by extensive extraction with chloroform:methanol, indicating that the fatty acids are covalently attached to protein. The finding that the fatty acid is released by hydroxylamine or beta-mercaptoethanol at neutral or even slightly acidic pH suggests that this moiety may be attached to the polypeptide via a thiol ester bond. Concanavalin A-agarose chromatography and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H digestion revealed that 14 of the proteins containing covalently linked fatty acid also contain at least one asparagine-linked oligosaccharide chain. With one exception, all of the fatty acylated proteins are tightly associated with membranes. The rate of incorporation of [3H]palmitic acid into the proteins is developmentally regulated. Between fertilization and the onset of gastrulation (approximately 30 h), embryos exhibit a linear, 5.5-fold increase in the rate of incorporation of fatty acid into polypeptide. Incorporation increases an additional 25% during gastrulation, and then remains constant throughout subsequent development to the pluteus stage (approximately 90 h). These findings demonstrate that the fatty acylation of proteins and glycoproteins is not limited to higher organisms, since it occurs during differentiation and embryonic development of a relatively simple invertebrate.

Characterization of the sperm receptor on the surface of eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Eggs of the sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus and Arbacia punctulata bind sperm with a high degree of species specificity. By use of an in vitro assay that utilizes bindin (the protein from sperm that mediates sperm-egg binding) egg surface-derived glycoconjugates that function as receptors in this adhesion process have been identified and purified. These glycoconjugates are of extraordinarily high molecular weight and exhibit some properties expected for a proteoglycan. The isolated receptors from both species bind to sperm and inhibit fertilization species specifically. Both receptors contain active carbohydrate-rich fragments that can be liberated by proteolytic digestion. The carbohydrate-rich receptor fragment from S. purpuratus is a very high-molecular-weight (greater than 10(6)), negatively charged glycosaminoglycan-like polymer containing fucose, galactosamine, iduronic acid, and sulfate esters. By contrast, the carbohydrate-rich fragment derived from the A. punctulata receptor is of defined molecular weight (6000) and has no net charge. Incubation of acrosome-reacted sperm with nanomolar amounts of the carbohydrate-rich fragments from either species results in inhibition of fertilization, indicating that these receptor fragments retain sperm binding activity. However, studies utilizing heterologous gametes show that the carbohydrate-rich receptor fragments are not species specific in binding. Thus, it appears that although the carbohydrate chains of the receptor are an adhesive element of the receptor, the intact glycoconjugate is required for species-specific binding.

Vertebrate lens alpha-crystallins are modified by O-linked N-acetylglucosamine.

Crystallins are structural proteins responsible for establishing the remarkable optical properties of the lens. Yet many of these highly conserved proteins are also expressed in nonocular tissues, where they have alternative functions apparently unrelated to their structural role in the lens. Here we report that lens alpha-crystallins, some of which function as heat-shock proteins in other tissues, are modified with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc). An in vitro enzymatic assay that transfers [3H]Gal to terminal GlcNAc moieties labels alpha A and alpha B crystallins in lens homogenates from man, rhesus monkey, rat, cow, and rhea (an ostrich-like bird). O-Linkage of the saccharide is demonstrated by sensitivity to base-catalyzed beta-elimination and resistance to peptide:N-glycosidase F treatment. Chromatographic analyses of the beta-elimination products and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of [3H]Gal-labeled tryptic peptides confirm the saccharide structure. Isoelectric focusing of [3H]Gal-labeled bovine lens proteins reveals the presence of O-GlcNAc on all four alpha-crystallin subunits, A1, A2, B1, and B2. Electrospray mass spectrometry of bovine alpha-crystallin demonstrates the presence of a single O-GlcNAc substitution on alpha A2. Gas-phase protein sequencing and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry of the major radiolabeled tryptic peptide from bovine alpha-crystallin reveal that GlcNAc is attached to the alpha A subunits at serine 162. This post-translational modification may play an important role in the molecular organization of lens alpha-crystallin.