Publications

We report that extracts of Schistosoma mansoni contain a GDPFuc:Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc (Fuc to GlcNAc) alpha 1-3 fucosyltransferase (alpha 1,3 FT) capable of synthesizing the antigenic determinant known as Lewis x (Le(x), Gal beta 1-4[Fuc alpha 1-3]GlcNAc beta 1-R). When the acceptor lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT, Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) was incubated with extracts of S. mansoni in the presence of GDPFuc and Mn2+, Fuc was transferred to generate the pentasaccharide lacto-N-fucopentaose III (LNFPIII, Gal beta 1-4[Fuc alpha 1-3]GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal Beta 1-4Glc). The enzyme did not transfer efficiently to the isomeric oligosaccharide lacto-N-tetraose (LNT, Gal beta 1-3GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc). The activity of the schistosome alpha 1,3 FT toward LNnT was dependent upon time, protein and GDPFuc. Interestingly, the schistosome alpha 1,3 FT was also able to transfer Fuc to a sialic acid-containing trisaccharide NeuAc alpha 2-3 Gal beta 1-4 GlcNAc to produce the tetrasaccharide sialyl Lewis x (2,3 sLe(x), NeuAc alpha 2-3 Gal beta 1-4[Fuc 1-3]GlcNAc), although the rate of reaction with the sialylated acceptor was 5% of the rate obtained toward nonsialylated acceptor. The schistosome alpha 1,3 FT was relatively resistant to inhibition by N-ethylmaleimide. The enzymatic properties of the schistosome alpha 1,3 FT resemble those of the human myeloid fucosyltransferase FTIV and not those of other known human fucosyltransferase.

The thermodynamics of carbohydrate binding to the 14 kDa dimeric beta-galactoside-binding lectin galectin-1 (Gal-1) from Chinese hamster ovary cells and four galactose-specific plant lectins were investigated by isothermal titration microcalorimetry. Recombinant Gal-1 from Escherichia coli, a Cys-->Ser mutant with enhanced stability (C2S-Gal-1), and a monomeric mutant of the lectin (N-Gal-1) were studied along with the soybean agglutinin and the lectins from Erythrina indica, Erythrina crystagalli, and Erythrina corollodendrum. Although the pattern of association constants of the Erythrina lectins was similar for mono- and disaccharides, variations exist in their enthalpy of binding (-delta H) values for individual carbohydrates. While the Erythrina lectins show greater affinities and -delta H values for lactose and N-acetyllactosamine, the soybean agglutinin possesses similar affinities for methyl beta-galactopyranoside, lactose, and N-acetyllactosamine and a greater -delta H value for the monosaccharide. Gal-1 and the plant lectins possess essentially the same affinities for N-acetyllactosamine; however, the animal lectin shows a lower -delta H value and more favorable binding entropy for the disaccharide. While Gal-1, C2S-Gal-1, and N-Gal-1 all possess essentially the same affinities for N-acetyllactosamine, the two mutants possess much lower -delta H values, even though the mutation site(s) are far removed from the carbohydrate binding site. These results indicate that there are different energetic mechanisms of carbohydrate binding between galectin-1, its two mutants, and the Gal-specific plant lectins.

The current shortage of donor organs has stimulated investigation of pig-to-human xenotransplantation as a practical alternative to allotransplantation. However, a major obstacle to this xenotransplantation is hyperacute rejection, which is believed to be initiated by the interaction of natural anti-alpha-galactosyl (alphaGal) antibodies with alphaGal epitopes on pig vascular endothelium. Previously, we reported that neutral oligosaccharides derived from porcine stomach mucin (PSM) are effective inhibitors of human anti-alphaGal IgG in vitro. We now report that O-glycans derived from PSM by beta-elimination (PSMO) reduce the cytotoxicity of both baboon and human sera to pig kidney (PK15) cells in vitro. Crude PSM had some inhibitory effect in vitro, but PSMO were more than 100 times more potent. Moreover, 1 microg/ml of beta-eliminated PSMO that bound to an immunoaffinity column of anti-alphaGal antibodies were four times more efficient than total PSMO in protecting PK15 cells from the cytotoxic effect of baboon or human sera. Blood recovered from baboons after intravenous infusion of PMSO also showed significant protection of PK15 cells. We conclude that PSMO eluted from an anti-alphaGal immunoaffinity column demonstrate potent inhibitory effects against baboon and human serum cytotoxicity to PK15 cells in vitro and when administered intravenously. PSM may provide a cheap and readily available source of glycans that will be of therapeutic value in the prevention of hyperacute rejection.

A novel bioluminescence-based solid-phase assay is described for the enzyme GDPFuc:Gal(beta)1-3GlcNAc (Fuc to GlcNAc) alpha1,4-fucosyltransferase (alpha1,4FT), which generates the Lewis a blood group antigen (Le(a)) (Gal(beta)1-3[Fuc(alpha)1-4]GlcNAc-R). Lacto-N-tetraose (LNT,Ga ta)1-3GlcNAc(beta)1-3Gal(beta)1-4Glc) was chemically conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) to generate the acceptor neoglycoprotein LNT-BSA. The Le(a) product of the reaction made in the presence of the donor GDPFuc is detected with a primary monoclonal IgG antibody to Le(a) and a secondary antibody coupled to either alkaline phosphatase or the recombinant bioluminescent protein aequorin. Recombinant human GDPFuc:Gal(beta)1-3(4)GlcNAc (Fuc to GlcNAc) alpha1,4/alpha1,3-fucosyltransferase, which exhibits alpha1,4FT activity, was used to optimize the assay. With this assay alpha1,4FT activity is measurable in human serum, in human saliva, and in extracts of the human colon carcinoma cell line SW1116. Activity is absent, however, in extracts of human HL-60 and murine F9 cells, neither of which synthesize Le(a) antigen. Among 10 human donors tested, soluble alpha1,4FT activity, was measurable in serum and saliva of some, but not all donors. However, the presence of enzyme activity in sera does not correlate with Lewis blood group phenotype of erythrocytes. The saliva of one donor, which contained Le(a) antigens, exhibited no alpha1,4FT activity. That saliva was found to contain a heat-stable factor(s) capable of inhibiting the alpha1,4FT activity when mixed with donor saliva containing alpha1,4FT activity. This new assay should be useful in assessing the Lewis enzyme activity in body fluids and its relationship to the Lewis blood group status on cells and secreted glycoconjugates in normal and diseased states.

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) is a muclin-like glycoportein ligand for P- and E-selectin on myeloid cells and a subset of lymphocytes. We used flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry to examine expression of PSGL-1 on minor leukocyte populations, differentiating hematopoletic cells, and nonhematopoietic tissues using two monoclonal antibodies to distinct protein epitopes on PSGL-1. In the bone marrow, PSGL-1 was expressed on myeloid cells from the myeloblast stage to the segmented neutrophil, but was not detected on erythroblasts or megakaryocytes. All types of circulating myeloid cells expressed PSGL-1, and PSGL-1 was retained after extravasation of myetoid cells into tissues. PSGL-1 was also expressed on circulating dendritic cells, monocyte-derived dendritic cells, dendritic cells in lymphoid tissues and epidermis, and follicular dendritic cells. All types of lymphoid cells examined expressed PSGK-1, including immature and mature thymocytes, naive and memory T cells, gamma/delta T cells, netural killer cells, B cells and CD34+ progenitor cells. However, PSGL-1 levels were substantially lower on tonsillar lymphocytes than on circulating lymphocytes, suggesting that PSGL-1 expression is down regulated during or after entry of lymphocytes into secondary lymphoid tissue. Although PSGL-1 antigen was detected primarily on hamatopoietic cells, it was also present on time epithelium of the fallopian tube. Furthermore, PSGL-1 antigen gen was detected sporadically on microvascular endothelium in some pathologic tissues. This suggests that PSGL-1 may have functions other than mediating leukocyte adhersion.

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) is a mucin-like glycoprotein on leukocytes that is a high affinity ligand for P-selectin. Previous studies have shown that sialylation and fucosylation of PSGL-1 are required for its binding to P-selectin, but other post-translational modifications of PSGL-1 may also be important. We demonstrate that PSGL-1 synthesized in human HL-60 cells can be metabolically labeled with [35S]sulfate that is incorporated primarily into tyrosine sulfate. Treatment of PSGL-1 with a bacterial arylsulfatase releases sulfate from tyrosine, resulting in a concordant decrease in binding to P-selectin. These studies demonstrate that tyrosine sulfate on PSGL-1 functions in conjunction with sialylated and fucosylated glycans to mediate high affinity binding to P-selectin.

Glycosylation positions and oligosaccharide characteristics in the proline-rich, mucin-like, C-terminal region (C-tail) of human milk bile salt-activated lipase (BAL) were studied in order to assess the possible physiological functions of this region. A large-scale purification method has been devised to purify the C-tail fragment from human milk BAL. Chymotryptic, tryptic, and cyanogen bromide cleavages of partially purified BAL and subsequent molecular sieve chromatography yielded 20-30 mg of C-tail fragment from 1 L of human milk. The N-terminal sequence and amino acid composition of the purified C-tail fragment establish that it is derived from residues 528-712 of the enzyme. The O-glycosylated carbohydrates of the C-tail fragment contain fucose, galactose, glucosamine, galactosamine, and neuraminic acid in a molar ratio of 1:3:2:1:0.3, respectively. beta-Elimination reaction revealed that nine threonine residues and less than one serine residue were glycosylated. Edman degradation of C-tail fragment and its pronase subfragment suggest a number of glycosylation sites which are flanked by a consensus motif of PVPP. We suggest that this motif may serve as a signal for O-glycosylation in the C-tail region of BAL. Immunochemical studies indicated that the oligosaccharide chains in the C-tail region of BAL contain Lewis x and Lewis a antigens and, less prominently, sialyl Lewis x and sialyl Lewis a antigens. C-tail fragment was also found to bind jacalin lectin. These observations suggest the possibility that the C-tail region may contribute to adhesive activity in the physiological function of BAL.

We now report that alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-LA) has a novel effect on bovine milk UDP-Gal:GlcNAc-beta 1,4-galactosyltransferase (beta 1,4-GT) and induces the enzyme to efficiently utilize UDP-GalNAc as a donor. In the presence of alpha-LA the enzyme transfers GalNAc to free GlcNAc to produce GalNAc beta 1-4GlcNAc at a rate 55% of that compared to the rate when UDP-Gal is the donor in the absence of alpha-LA. The stimulation by alpha-LA is dependent on the concentrations of alpha-LA, acceptor, and sugar nucleotide. Interestingly, beta 1,4-GT is unable to transfer Gal-NAc to Glc with or without alpha-LA. alpha-LA also stimulates the transfer of GalNAc from UDP-GalNAc to various chitin oligomers, although the degree of stimulation decreases as the acceptor size increases. Thus, bovine milk beta 1,4-GT has an inherent ability to utilize two different sugar nucleotides and the sugar nucleotide preference is regulatable by alpha-LA.

The selectins have attracted intense interest because of their carbohydrate-recognition properties and their pivotal roles in leukocyte trafficking. Future studies will center on the mechanisms for regulating the expression of the selectins and their ligands, the molecular details of selectin binding to glycoprotein ligands and small carbohydrates, and the biophysical principles that selectins employ to mediate attachment and rolling of leukocytes under flow.

The functions of sulphated monosaccharides within glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and glycoproteins are being studied intensely, but progress is hindered by an inability to selectively desulphate glycoconjugates. We recently identified an N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulphate sulphatase (NG6SS) from bovine kidney that can remove sulphate from N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulphate (GlcNAc-6-SO4) within oligosaccharides and glycoproteins. However, the potential 'endosulphatase' activity of the NG6SS toward GAGs is not known. To test for this possibility, [3H]glucosamine-, [3H]galactose- and 35SO4-labelled keratan sulphate (KS) were separately prepared by metabolic radiolabelling of bovine cornea. NG6SS quantitatively removed sulphate from KS without release of sugar fragments. The enzyme had a Km of 4.7 mM toward free GlcNAc-6-SO4, but its Km for commercially available bovine corneal KS was found to be 9.1 microM. Analyses of both KS and heparan sulphate after treatment with NG6SS demonstrated significant loss of sulphate from GlcNAc-6-SO4 in both GAGs. These findings may be relevant for future studies aimed at defining the function(s) of GlcNAc-6-SO4 residues in GAGs and understanding the catabolism of GAGs, especially in regard to sulphatidoses, such as Sanfilippo D syndrome in humans, which involves a deficiency of NG6SS activity.