Purification and kinetic parameters of bovine liver N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase

Human mannose 6-phosphate-uncovering enzyme is synthesized as a proenzyme that is activated by the endoprotease furin

N-Acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase, also known as "uncovering" enzyme (UCE), is localized in the trans-Golgi network, where it removes a covering N-acetylglucosamine from the mannose 6-phosphate recognition marker on lysosomal acid hydrolases. Here we show that UCE is synthesized as an inactive proenzyme that is activated by the endoprotease furin, which cleaves an RARLPR/D sequence to release a 24-amino acid propiece. As furin is localized in the trans-Golgi network, newly synthesized UCE is inactive until it reaches this terminal Golgi compartment. LoVo cells (derived from a human colon adenocarcinoma) lack furin activity and have extremely low UCE activity. Addition of furin to LoVo cell extracts restores UCE activity to normal levels, demonstrating that the UCE proenzyme is stable in this cell type. LoVo cells secrete acid hydrolases with phosphomannose diesters as a consequence of the deficient UCE activity. This demonstrates for the first time that UCE is the only enzyme in these cells capable of efficiently uncovering phosphomannose diesters. UCE also hydrolyzes UDP-GlcNAc, a sugar donor for Golgi N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases. The fact that UCE is not activated until it reaches the trans-Golgi network may ensure that the pool of UDP-GlcNAc in the Golgi stack is not depleted, thereby maintaining proper oligosaccharide assembly.

Molecular cloning and functional expression of two splice forms of human N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase

We have isolated and sequenced human cDNA and mouse genomic DNA clones encoding N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase (phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase) which catalyzes the second step in the synthesis of the mannose 6-phosphate recognition signal on lysosomal enzymes. The gene is organized into 10 exons. The protein sequence encoded by the clones shows 80% identity between human and mouse phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase and no homology to other known proteins. It predicts a type I membrane-spanning glycoprotein of 514 amino acids containing a 24-amino acid signal sequence, a luminal domain of 422 residues with six potential N-linked glycosylation sites, a single 27-residue transmembrane region, and a 41-residue cytoplasmic tail that contains both a tyrosine-based and an NPF internalization motif. Human brain expressed sequence tags lack a 102-base pair region present in human liver cDNA that corresponds to exon 8 in the genomic DNA and probably arises via alternative splicing. COS cells transfected with the human cDNA expressed 50-100-fold increases in phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase activity proving that the cDNA encodes the subunits of the tetrameric enzyme. Transfection with cDNA lacking the 102-base pair region also gave active enzyme. The complete genomic sequence of human phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase was recently deposited in the data base. It showed that our cDNA clone was missing only the 5'-untranslated region and initiator methionine and revealed that the human genomic DNA has the same exon organization as the mouse gene.

Abnormal lysosomal sorting with an enhanced secretion of cathepsin D precursor molecules bearing monoester phosphate groups

It has been reported that besides defects in the phosphorylation such as in the I-cell disease, a failure in the uncovering of mannose 6-phosphate residues may result in an increase of lysosomal enzyme activities in serum [Alexander et al., Hum. Genet. 73, 53-59 (1986)]. We examined fibroblasts that were derived from the original biopsy, observed an enhanced secretion of lysosomal enzymes including cathepsin D, but found that both the phosphorylation and uncovering of mannose 6-phosphate residues were normal. The enhanced secretion of cathepsin D was characterized by an increase in the secretion of phosphorylated molecules that were sensitive to a treatment with alkaline phosphatase. The enhanced secretion of the phosphatase-sensitive form of procathepsin D was further increased in the presence of antibodies directed to cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptors. In contrast, antibodies specific to cation-dependent mannose 6-phosphate receptors selectively inhibited the secretion of the phosphatase-sensitive procathepsin D molecules. A chromatographic analysis of oligosaccharides from the secreted procathepsin D confirmed that the cells secrete proenzyme molecules rich in oligosaccharides with two uncovered phosphate residues. It is suggested that the enhanced secretion of procathepsin D in the variant fibroblasts results from an abnormal sorting rather than processing of phosphorylated lysosomal enzymes.

Purification and multimeric structure of bovine N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase

N-Acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-Acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.1.4.45; phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase) catalyzes the second step in the synthesis of the mannose 6-phosphate determinant required for efficient intracellular targeting of newly synthesized lysosomal hydrolases to the lysosome. A partially purified preparation of phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase from bovine pancreas was used to generate a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies. The anti-phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase monoclonal antibody UC1 was coupled to a solid support and used to immunopurify the bovine liver enzyme 670,000-fold in two steps to apparent homogeneity with an overall yield of 14%. The purified phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase has a specific activity of 498 micromol of [3H]GlcNAc-alpha-phosphomannose-alpha-methyl cleaved per h per mg of protein using 0.5 mM [3H]GlcNAc-alpha-phosphomannose-alpha-methyl as substrate. The subunit structure of the enzyme was determined using a combination of analytical gel filtration chromatography, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and amino-terminal sequencing. The data indicate that bovine phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase is a 272,000-Da complex of four identical 68,000-Da glycoprotein subunits arranged as two disulfide-linked homodimers. A soluble form of the enzyme, isolated from fetal bovine serum, showed the same subunit structure. Both forms of the enzyme reacted with a rabbit antibody raised to the amino-terminal peptide of the liver enzyme, suggesting that phosphodiester alpha-GlcNAcase is a type I membrane-spanning glycoprotein with its amino terminus in the lumen of the Golgi apparatus.

The detection of enzyme activity following sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

More than a hundred different enzymes impinging on aspects of cell function ranging from carbohydrate and lipid metabolism to signal transduction and gene expression to biomolecule degradation have been detected by the assay of their enzymatic activities following SDS-PAGE. The strategies by which this has been accomplished are as varied as the enzymes themselves and offer testimony to the creativeness and ingenuity of life scientists. Assay of enzyme activity following SDS-PAGE is well adapted to identifying the source of catalytic activity in a heterogeneous protein mixture or a heterooligomeric protein (20), or determining if multiple catalytic activities reside in a single polypeptide (60). The alliance of versatile enzyme assay techniques with the molecular resolution of SDS-PAGE offers a powerful means for meeting the increasing demand for the high-throughput screening arising from protein engineering, combinatorial chemistry, and functional genomics.

Molecular dissection of a cosmid from a gene-rich region in 17q21 and characterization of a candidate gene for alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase with two cDNA isoforms

A cosmid mapped to human Chromosome (Chr) 17q21, c140c10, was found to contain a CpG island. We completed the sequence analysis of c140c10 because of two considerations: the cosmid contained an STS from the 17-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene (17-HSD), which was believed to be a neighbor of the breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA1; CpG islands are usually associated downstream and/or upstream of human genes. Computer-based exon trapping of the cosmid sequence revealed putative additional exons. With two of those exons used as a probe to screen human placental cDNA libraries, two cDNA isoforms for a novel gene, designated as ufHSD, were isolated. The amino acid sequence of the open reading frames of the cDNA showed no significant homology to any protein in the data base. However, it is possible that our cDNAs are from the gene for alpha-acetylglucosaminidase, which has recently been localized to the same region. Northern analyses show that the major isoform is expressed in all tissues tested, with the highest expression in blood leukocytes and lowest in brain. Finally, our study has shown that the 46.7-kb cosmid c140c10 encompasses loci for five genes and pseudo-genes: PsiPTP4A, ufHSD, 17-HSDI, 17-HSDII, and 22A1.