Search for the heparin antithrombin III-binding site precursor

Preparation of Low Molecular Weight Heparin from a Remodeled Bovine Intestinal Heparin

Bovine intestinal heparins are structurally distinct from porcine intestinal heparins and exhibit lower specific anticoagulant activity (units/mg). The reduced content of N-sulfo, 3-O-sulfo glucosamine, the central and critical residue in heparin's antithrombin III binding site, is responsible for bovine intestinal heparin's reduced activity. Previous studies demonstrate that treatment of bovine intestinal heparin with 3-O-sulfotransferase in the presence of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate afforded remodeled bovine heparin with an enhanced activity reaching the United States Pharmacopeia's requirements. Starting from this remodeled bovine intestinal heparin, we report the preparation of a bovine intestinal low molecular weight heparin having the same structural properties and anti-factor IIa and anti-factor Xa activities of Enoxaparin. Moreover, this bovine intestinal heparin-derived "Enoxaparin" showed comparable platelet factor-4 binding affinity, suggesting that it should exhibit similarly low levels of heparin induced thrombocytopeneia, HIT.

Structural Analysis of Heparin-Derived 3-O-Sulfated Tetrasaccharides: Antithrombin Binding Site Variants

Heparin is a polysaccharide that is widely used as an anticoagulant drug. The mechanism for heparin's anticoagulant activity is primarily through its interaction with a serine protease inhibitor, antithrombin III (AT), that enhances its ability to inactivate blood coagulation serine proteases, including thrombin (factor IIa) and factor Xa. The AT-binding site in the heparin is one of the most well-studied carbohydrate-protein binding sites and its structure is the basis for the synthesis of the heparin pentasaccharide drug, fondaparinux. Despite our understanding of the structural requirements for the heparin pentasaccharide AT-binding site, there is a lack of data on the natural variability of these binding sites in heparins extracted from animal tissues. The present work provides a detailed study on the structural variants of the tetrasaccharide fragments of this binding site afforded following treatment of a heparin with heparin lyase II. The 5 most commonly observed tetrasaccharide fragments of the AT-binding site are fully characterized, and a method for their quantification in heparin and low-molecular-weight heparin products is described.

Engineered heparins as new anticoagulant drugs

Heparin is an anionic polysaccharide that is widely used as a clinical anticoagulant. This glycosaminoglycan is prepared from animal tissues in metric ton quantities. Animal-sourced heparin is also widely used in the preparation of low molecular weight heparins that are gaining in popularity as a result of their improved pharmacological properties. The recent contamination of pharmaceutical heparin together with concerns about increasing demand for this life saving drug and the fragility of the heparin supply chain has led the scientific community to consider other potential sources for heparin. This review examines progress toward the preparation of engineered heparins through chemical synthesis, chemoenzymatic synthesis, and metabolic engineering.

Structural peculiarity and antithrombin binding region profile of mucosal bovine and porcine heparins

The major compositional differences between bovine mucosal heparin (BMH) and the currently employed porcine mucosal heparin (PMH) have been reported to essentially consist of reduced 6-O-sulfation of the glucosamine residues in BMH and somewhat lower 2-O-sulfation of the iduronate residues in PMH. The present work is based on direct comparison of several BMH and PMH commercial preparations. A combined study by 2D (heteronuclear single quantum coherence, HSQC) NMR and ion-pair reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (IPRP-HPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) on the heparins, extended to the analysis of their heparinases digests and fractions separated by affinity chromatography on antithrombin (AT), confirmed the previously reported lower degree of 6-O-sulfation and showed lower 3-O-sulfated glucosamine content in BMH. More detailed studies allowed the identification of structural variants of AT-binding region (ATBR) structural variants, showing higher content of the N-sulfated components in BMH than in PMH.

Assays for determining heparan sulfate and heparin O-sulfotransferase activity and specificity

O-sulfotransferases (OSTs) are critical enzymes in the cellular biosynthesis of the biologically and pharmacologically important heparan sulfate and heparin. Recently, these enzymes have been cloned and expressed in bacteria for application in the chemoenzymatic synthesis of glycosaminoglycan-based drugs. OST activity assays have largely relied on the use of radioisotopic methods using [(35)S] 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate and scintillation counting. Herein, we examine alternative assays that are more compatible with a biomanufacturing environment. A high throughput microtiter-based approach is reported that relies on a coupled bienzymic colorimetric assay for heparan sulfate and heparin OSTs acting on polysaccharide substrates using arylsulfotransferase-IV and p-nitrophenylsulfate as a sacrificial sulfogroup donor. A second liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric assay, for heparan sulfate and heparin OSTs acting on structurally defined oligosaccharide substrates, is also reported that provides additional information on the number and positions of the transferred sulfo groups within the product. Together, these assays allow quantitative and mechanistic information to be obtained on OSTs that act on heparan sulfate and heparin precursors.

An unusual antithrombin-binding heparin octasaccharide with an additional 3-O-sulfated glucosamine in the active pentasaccharide sequence

The 3-O-sulfation of N-sulfated glucosamine is the last event in the biosynthesis of heparin/heparan sulfate, giving rise to the antithrombin-binding pentasaccharide sequence AGA*IA, which is largely associated with the antithrombotic activity of these molecules. The aim of the present study was the structural and biochemical characterization of a previously unreported AGA*IA*-containing octasaccharide isolated from the very-low-molecular-mass heparin semuloparin, in which both glucosamine residues of the pentasaccharide moiety located at the non-reducing end bear 3-O-sulfate groups. Two-dimensional and STD (saturation transfer difference) NMR experiments clearly confirmed its structure and identified its ligand epitope binding to antithrombin. The molecular conformation of the octasaccharide-antithrombin complex has been determined by NMR experiments and docking/energy minimization. The presence of the second 3-O-sulfated glucosamine in the octasaccharide induced more than one order of magnitude increase in affinity to antithrombin compared to the pentasaccharide AGA*IA.

Heparinase 1 selectivity for the 3,6-di-O-sulfo-2-deoxy-2-sulfamido-alpha-D-glucopyranose (1,4) 2-O-sulfo-alpha-L-idopyranosyluronic acid (GlcNS3S6S-IdoA2S) linkages

Porcine intestinal mucosa heparin was partially depolymerized by recombinant heparinase 1 (heparin lyase 1, originating from Flavobacterium heparinum and expressed in Escherichia coli) and then fractionated, leading to the isolation of 22 homogeneous oligosaccharides with sizes ranging from disaccharide to hexadecasaccharide. The purity of these oligosaccharides was determined by gel electrophoresis, strong anion exchange and reversed-phase ion-pairing high-performance liquid chromatography. The molecular mass of oligosaccharides was determined using electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and their structures were elucidated using one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 600 MHz. Five of the characterized oligosaccharides represent new compounds. The most prominent oligosaccharide comprises the common repeating unit of heparin, ΔUA2S-[-GlcNS6S-IdoA2S-](n)-GlcNS6S, where ΔUA is 4-deoxy-α-l-threo-hex-4-eno-pyranosyluronic acid, GlcN is 2-deoxy-2-amino-d-glucopyranose, IdoA is l-idopyranosyluronic acid, S is sulfate and n = 0-7. A second prominent heparin oligosaccharide motif corresponds to ΔUA2S-[GlcNS6S-IdoA2S](n)-GlcNS6S-IdoA-GlcNAc6S-GlcA-GlcNS3S6S (where n = 0-5 and GlcA is d-glucopyranosyluronic acid), a fragment of the antithrombin III binding site in heparin. The prominence of this second set of oligosaccharides and the absence of intact antithrombin III binding sites suggest that the -GlcNS3S6S-IdoA2S- linkage is particularly susceptible to heparinase 1.

Toward an artificial Golgi: redesigning the biological activities of heparan sulfate on a digital microfluidic chip

Using digital microfluidics, recombinant enzyme technology, and magnetic nanoparticles, we have created a functional prototype of an artificial Golgi organelle. Analogous to the natural Golgi, which is responsible for the enzymatic modification of glycosaminoglycans immobilized on proteins, this artificial Golgi enzymatically modifies glycosaminoglycans, specifically heparan sulfate (HS) chains immobilized onto magnetic nanoparticles. Sulfo groups were transferred from adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate to the 3-hydroxyl group of the D-glucosamine residue in an immobilized HS chain using D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase. After modification, the nanoparticles with immobilized HS exhibited increased affinity for fluorescently labeled antithrombin III as detected by confocal microscopy. Since the biosynthesis of HS involves an array of specialized glycosyl transferases, epimerase, and sulfotransferases, this approach should mimic the synthesis of HS in vivo. Furthermore, our method demonstrates the feasibility of investigating the effects of multienzyme systems on the structure of final glycan products for HS-based glycomic studies.

Crystal structure of heparinase II from Pedobacter heparinus and its complex with a disaccharide product

Heparinase II depolymerizes heparin and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans, yielding unsaturated oligosaccharide products through an elimination degradation mechanism. This enzyme cleaves the oligosaccharide chain on the nonreducing end of either glucuronic or iduronic acid, sharing this characteristic with a chondroitin ABC lyase. We have determined the first structure of a heparin-degrading lyase, that of heparinase II from Pedobacter heparinus (formerly Flavobacterium heparinum), in a ligand-free state at 2.15 A resolution and in complex with a disaccharide product of heparin degradation at 2.30 A resolution. The protein is composed of three domains: an N-terminal alpha-helical domain, a central two-layered beta-sheet domain, and a C-terminal domain forming a two-layered beta-sheet. Heparinase II shows overall structural similarities to the polysaccharide lyase family 8 (PL8) enzymes chondroitin AC lyase and hyaluronate lyase. In contrast to PL8 enzymes, however, heparinase II forms stable dimers, with the two active sites formed independently within each monomer. The structure of the N-terminal domain of heparinase II is also similar to that of alginate lyases from the PL5 family. A Zn2+ ion is bound within the central domain and plays an essential structural role in the stabilization of a loop forming one wall of the substrate-binding site. The disaccharide binds in a long, deep canyon formed at the top of the N-terminal domain and by loops extending from the central domain. Based on structural comparison with the lyases from the PL5 and PL8 families having bound substrates or products, the disaccharide found in heparinase II occupies the "+1" and "+2" subsites. The structure of the enzyme-product complex, combined with data from previously characterized mutations, allows us to propose a putative chemical mechanism of heparin and heparan-sulfate degradation.

Glycosaminoglycan Composition of the Large Freshwater Mollusc Bivalve Anodonta anodonta

In this paper, glycosaminoglycans from the body of the large freshwater mollusc bivalve Anodonta anodonta were recovered at about 0.6 mg/g of dry tissue, composed of chondroitin sulfate (approximately 38%), nonsulfated chondroitin (about 21%), and heparin (41%). This last polysaccharide was found to consist of a large percentage (approximately 88%) of a fast-moving species possessing a lower molecular mass and sulfate group amount and about 12% of a more sulfated, slow-moving component having a greater molecular mass. The chondroitin sulfate was composed of approximately 28% of the 6-sulfated disaccharide, 46% of the 4-sulfated disaccharide, and about 26% of the nonsulfated disaccharide, with a charge density value of 0.74. Heparin was subjected to the oligosaccharide mapping after treatment with heparinase and then separation of the resulting unsaturated oligosaccharides by SAX-HPLC. A heparin sample from Anodonta anodonta showed a degree of sulfation similar to that of bovine mucosal heparin because of the presence of approximately the same mol % of the trisulfated disaccharide (DeltaUA2S(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcN2S6S), a slight modification of the other oligosaccharides, and a significant increase of the disaccharide bearing the sulfate group in position 3 of the N-sulfoglucosamine 6-sulfate (-->4)-beta-D-GlcA(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcN2S3S6S(1-->) part of the ATIII-binding region. However, the anticoagulant activity of mollusc heparin was quite similar to that of pharmaceutical grade heparin. The data obtained again emphasize the heterogeneity of GAGs from molluscs.

Synthesis of anticoagulantly active heparan sulfate proteoglycans by glomerular epithelial cells involves multiple 3-O-sulfotransferase isoforms and a limiting precursor pool

Endothelial and other select cell types synthesize a subpopulation of heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans (HSPGs), anticoagulant HSPGs (aHSPGs) that bear aHS-HS chains with the cognate 3-O-sulfated pentasaccharide motif that can bind and activate anti-thrombin (AT). Endothelial cells regulate aHSPG production by limiting levels of HS 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 (3-OST-1), which modifies a non-limiting pool of aHS-precursors. By probing kidney cryosections with (125)I-AT and fluorescently tagged AT we found that the glomerular basement membrane contains aHSPGs, with the staining pattern implicating synthesis by glomerular epithelial cells (GECs). Indeed, cultured GECs synthesized aHS with high AT affinity that was comparable with the endothelial product. Disaccharide analyses of human GEC (hGEC) HS in conjunction with transcript analyses revealed that hGECs express predominantly 3-OST-1 and 3-OST-3(A). aHS production has not been previously examined in cells expressing multiple 3-OST isoforms. This unusual situation appears to involve novel mechanisms to regulate aHS production, as HS structural analyses suggest hGECs exhibit excess levels of 3-OST-1 and an extremely limiting pool of aHS-precursor. A limiting aHS-precursor pool may serve to minimize aHS synthesis by non-3-OST-1 isoforms. Indeed, we show that high in vitro levels of 3-OST-3(A) can efficiently generate aHS. Non-3-OST-1 isoforms can generate aHS in vivo, as the probing of kidney sections from 3-OST-1-deficient mice revealed GEC synthesis of aHSPGs. Surprisingly, Hs3st1(-/-) kidney only expresses 3-OST isoforms having a low specificity for aHS synthesis. Thus, our analyses reveal a cell type that expresses multiple 3-OST isoforms and produces minimal amounts of aHS-precursor. In part, this mechanism should prevent aHS overproduction by non-3-OST-1 isoforms. Such a role may be essential, as 3-OST isoforms that have a low specificity for aHS synthesis can generate substantial levels of aHSPGs in vivo.

Purification and Characterization of Heparin from the Italian Clam Callista chione

An unusual heparin (approximately 1.9 mg/g of dry tissue) was isolated from the marine italian bivalve mollusk Callista chione. Agarose gel electrophoresis showed a high content of the fast-moving heparin component (85 +/- 7.6%) and 15 +/- 1.3% of the slow-moving species. An average molecular mass of 10 950 was calculated by PAGE analysis. The anticoagulant properties were measured as APTT (97 +/- 12.1 IU/mg) and anti-Xa activity (52 +/- 7.4 IU/mg). Structural analysis of clam heparin, performed by depolymerizing heparin samples with heparinase (EC 4.2.2.7) and then separating the resulting unsaturated oligosaccharides by SAX-HPLC, revealed the presence of low amounts of the trisulfated disaccharide [DeltaUA2S(1-->4)-alpha-d-GlcN2S6S] and a significant increase of the disaccharides bearing nonsulfated iduronic and glucuronic acids, [-->4)-alpha-l-IdoA(1-->4)-alpha-d-GlcNAc6S(1-->] and [-->4)-alpha-l-IdoA(1-->4)-alpha-d-GlcN2S6S(1-->], and [-->4)-beta-d-GlcA(1-->4)-alpha-d-GlcN2S6S(1-->]. As a consequence, Callista chione heparin is a low-sulfated polysaccharide showing a specific decrease of the sulfatation in position 2 of the uronic acid units.

Further evidence that periodate cleavage of heparin occurs primarily through the antithrombin binding site

Porcine mucosal heparin was fragmented into low-molecular-weight (LMW) heparin by treatment of periodate-oxidized heparin with sodium hydroxide, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride and acid hydrolysis. Gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed a mixture of heparin fragments with an average size of eight disaccharide units. 1D 1H NMR showed two-thirds of the N-acetyl groups were lost on periodate cleavage, suggesting cleavage had occurred at the glucopyranosyluronic acid (GlcpA) and idopyranosyluronic acid (IdopA) residues located within and adjacent to the antithrombin III (ATIII) binding site. The N-acetyl glucopyranose (GlcpNAc) residue was lost on workup. The GlcpA residue, within the ATIII binding site, is on the non-reducing side of the N-sulfo, 3, 6-O-sulfo glycopyranosylamine (GlcpNS3S6S) residue. Thus, periodate cleaved heparin should be enriched in GlcpNS3S6S residues. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D COSY) confirmed that LMW heparin prepared through periodate cleavage contained GlcpNS3S6S at its non-reducing end. As expected, this LMW heparin also showed reduced ATIII mediated anti-factor IIa and anti-factor Xa activities.

Role of arginine 292 in the catalytic activity of chondroitin AC lyase from Flavobacterium heparinum

Chondroitin AC lyase (chondroitinase EC 4.2.2.5), an eliminase from Flavobacterium heparinum, cleaves chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) at 1,4 glycosidic linkages between N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid residues. Cleavage occurs through beta-elimination in a random endolytic action pattern. Crystal structures of chondroitin AC lyase (wild type) complexed with oligosaccharides reveal a binding site within a narrow and shallow protein channel, suggesting several amino acids as candidates for the active site residues. Site-specific mutagenesis studies on residues within the active-site tunnel revealed that only the Arg to Ala 292 mutation (R292A) retained activity. Furthermore, structural data suggested that R292 was primarily involved in recognition of N-acetyl or O-sulfo moieties of galactosamine residues and did not directly participate in catalysis. The current study demonstrates that the R292A mutation affords approximately 10-fold higher K(m) values but no significant change in V(max), consistent with hypothesis that R292 is involved in binding the O-sulfo moiety of the saccharide residues. Change in chondroitin sulfate viscosity, as a function of its enzymatic cleavage, affords a shallower concave curve for the R292A mutant, suggesting its action pattern is neither purely random endolytic nor purely random exolytic. Product studies using gel electrophoresis confirm the altered action pattern of this mutant. Thus, these data suggest that the R292A mutation effectively reduces binding affinity, making it possible for the oligosaccharide chain, still bound after initial endolytic cleavage, to slide through the tunnel to the catalytic site for subsequent, processive, step-wise, exolytic cleavage.

Heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase-3A sulfates N-unsubstituted glucosamine residues

3-O-Sulfation of glucosamine by heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase (3-OST-1) is the key modification in anticoagulant heparan sulfate synthesis. However, the heparan sulfates modified by 3-OST-2 and 3-OST-3A, isoforms of 3-OST-1, do not have anticoagulant activity, although these isoforms transfer sulfate to the 3-OH position of glucosamine residues. In this study, we characterize the substrate specificity of purified 3-OST-3A at the tetrasaccharide level. The 3-OST-3A enzyme was purified from Sf9 cells infected with recombinant baculovirus containing 3-OST-3A cDNA. Two 3-OST-3A-modified tetrasaccharides were purified from the 3-O-(35)S-sulfated heparan sulfate that was digested by heparin lyases. These tetrasaccharides were analyzed using nitrous acid and enzymatic degradation combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry. Two novel tetrasaccharides were discovered with proposed structures of DeltaUA2S-GlcNS-IdoUA2S-[(35)S]GlcNH(2)3S and DeltaUA2S-GlcNS-IdoUA2S-[3-(35)S]GlcNH(2)3S6S . The results demonstrate that 3-OST-3A sulfates N-unsubstituted glucosamine residues, and the 3-OST-3A modification sites are probably located in defined oligosaccharide sequences. Our study suggests that oligosaccharides with N-unsubstituted glucosamine are precursors for sulfation by 3-OST-3A. The intriguing linkage between N-unsubstituted glucosamine and the 3-O-sulfation by 3-OST-3A may provide a clue to the potential biological functions of 3-OST-3A-modified heparan sulfate.

Expression of heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase isoforms reveals novel substrate specificities

The 3-O-sulfation of glucosamine residues is an important modification during the biosynthesis of heparan sulfate (HS). Our previous studies have led us to purify and molecularly clone the heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase (3-OST-1), which is the key enzyme converting nonanticoagulant heparan sulfate (HSinact) to anticoagulant heparan sulfate (HSact). In this study, we expressed and characterized the full-length cDNAs of 3-OST-1 homologous genes, designated as 3-OST-2, 3-OST-3A, and 3-OST-3B as described in the accompanying paper (Shworak, N. W., Liu, J., Petros, L. M., Zhang, L., Kobayashi, M., Copeland, N. G., Jenkins, N. A., and Rosenberg, R. D. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 5170-5184). All these cDNAs were successfully expressed in COS-7 cells, and heparan sulfate sulfotransferase activities were found in the cell extracts. We demonstrated that 3-OST-2, 3-OST-3A, and 3-OST-3B are heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferases because the enzymes transfer sulfate from adenosine 3'-phosphophate 5'-phospho-[35S]sulfate ([35S]PAPS) to the 3-OH position of glucosamine. 3-OST-3A and 3-OST-3B sulfate an identical disaccharide. HSact conversion activity in the cell extract transfected by 3-OST-1 was shown to be 300-fold greater than that in the cell extracts transfected by 3-OST-2 and 3-OST-3A, suggesting that 3-OST-2 and 3-OST-3A do not make HSact. The results of the disaccharide analysis of the nitrous acid-degraded [35S]HS suggested that 3-OST-2 transfers sulfate to GlcA2S-GlcNS and IdoA2S-GlcNS; 3-OST-3A transfers sulfate to IdoA2S-GlcNS. Our results demonstrate that the 3-O-sulfation of glucosamine is generated by different isoforms depending on the saccharide structures around the modified glucosamine residue. This discovery has provided evidence for a new cellular mechanism for generating a defined saccharide sequence in structurally complex HS polysaccharide.

The retinoic acid and cAMP-dependent up-regulation of 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 leads to a dramatic augmentation of anticoagulantly active heparan sulfate biosynthesis in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells

Retinoic acid (RA) and dibutyryl cAMP plus theophilline (CT) trigger F9 cells to differentiate into parietal endoderm. The differentiation induces a 9-fold increase in total heparan sulfate (HStotal) biosynthesis and a 170-fold increase in anticoagulantly active HS (HSact) biosynthesis. Measurement of 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 mRNA and enzymatic activity demonstrated an increase of over 100-fold whereas determination of N-, 2-O, and 6-O-sulfotransferase enzymatic activities showed elevations of 2-, 3. 5-, and 3.7-fold, respectively. HSact precursor pool measurements reveal that 30% of control F9 HStotal can be converted into HSact while only an additional 10% of RACT F9 HStotal can be transformed into HSact. Disaccharide analysis of metabolic labeled HS indicated that 32% 3-O-sulfate containing disaccharides, i.e. GlcA-anManR3S and GlcA-anManR3S6S, are present in HSact and 68% GlcA-anManR3S and GlcA-anManR3S6S are found in anticoagulantly inactive HS (HSinact). By using adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-phosphosulfate and purified 3-O-sulfotransferase-1, 30% of 3-O-sulfation occurs in HSact and 70% of 3-O-sulfation occurs in HSinact. The similar ratio of 3-O-sulfate distribution in HSact versus HSinact suggests that HSact production in the F9 system is determined by the abundance of 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 as well as the size of the HSact precursor pool. Extensively 3-O-sulfated HSinact may play an important functional role under in vivo conditions within the murine placenta.

Characterization of heparin oligosaccharide mixtures as ammonium salts using electrospray mass spectrometry

Among glycosaminoglycans, polysulfated heparin chains provide the greatest challenge to characterization due to high polarity, structural diversity, and sulfate lability. The present report demonstrates how electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS) can be used to derive compositional information from pure and mixed fractions of heparin tetra- to decasaccharide fragments prepared by controlled digestion of heparin with heparinase I. It also describes an improved procedure for fractionation of heparin oligosaccharides up to octadecasaccharides. Ammonium salts prove to be superior to sodium salts, particularly for analysis of mixed components. In the mass spectrum of a hexasaccharide fraction, the identification of six major mass peaks that represent the known hexasaccharide structures confirms that ESMS analysis of heparin oligosaccharide fragments gives a close representation of their constituent composition. In addition to the previously identified components, several unreported oligosaccharides were detected in the spectra of octa- and decasaccharide fractions. The ESMS identification of the three major species in a decasaccharide fraction was confirmed after HPLC subfractionation and reanalysis. ESMS detection sensitivity of low picomole amounts of oligosaccharides can be readily achieved.

A major common trisulfated hexasaccharide core sequence, hexuronic acid(2-sulfate)-glucosamine(N-sulfate)-iduronic acid-N-acetylglucosamine-glucuronic acid-glucosamine(N-sulfate), isolated from the low sulfated irregular region of porcine intestinal heparin

The major structure of the low sulfated irregular region of porcine intestinal heparin was investigated by characterizing the hexasaccharide fraction prepared by extensive digestion of the highly sulfated region with Flavobacterium heparinase and subsequent size fractionation by gel chromatography. Structures of a tetrasaccharide, a pentasaccharide, and eight hexasaccharide components in this fraction, which accounted for approximately 19% (w/w) of the starting heparin representing the major oligosaccharide fraction derived from the irregular region, were determined by chemical and enzymatic analyses as well as 1H NMR spectroscopy. Five compounds including one penta- and four hexasaccharides had hitherto unreported structures. The structure of the pentasaccharide with a glucuronic acid at the reducing terminus was assumed to be derived from the reducing terminus of a heparin glycosaminoglycan chain and may represent the reducing terminus exposed by a tissue endo-beta-glucuronidase involved in the intracellular post-synthetic fragmentation of macromolecular heparin. Eight out of the 10 isolated oligosaccharides shared the trisaccharide sequence, -4IdceA alpha 1-4GlcNAc alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-, and its reverse sequence, -4GlcA beta 1-4GlcNAc alpha 1-4IdceA alpha 1-, was not found. The latter has not been reported to date for heparin/heparan sulfate, indicating the substrate specificity of the D-glucuronyl C-5 epimerase. Furthermore, seven hexasaccharides shared the common trisulfated hexasaccharide core sequence delta HexA(2-sulfate)alpha 1-4GlcN(N-sulfate)alpha 1-4IdceA alpha 1-4GlcNAc alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(N-sulfate) which contained the above trisaccharide sequence (delta HexA, IdceA, GlcN, and GlcA represent 4-deoxy-alpha-L-threo-hex-4-enepyranosyluronic acid, L-iduronic acid, D-glucosamine, and D-glucuronic acid, respectively) and additional sulfate groups. The specificity of the heparinase used for preparation of the oligosaccharides indicates the occurrence of the common pentasulfated octasaccharide core sequence, -4GlcN(N-sulfate)alpha 1-4HexA(2-sulfate)1-4GlcN(N-sulfate) alpha 1-4IdceA alpha 1-4GlcNAc alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4 GlcN(N-sulfate)alpha 1-4HexA(2-sulfate)1-, where the central hexasaccharide is flanked by GlcN(N-sulfate) and HexA(2-sulfate) on the nonreducing and reducing sides, respectively. The revealed common sequence constituted a low sulfated trisaccharide representing the irregular region sandwiched by highly sulfated regions and should reflect the control mechanism of heparin biosynthesis.

Molecular cloning and expression of mouse and human cDNAs encoding heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase

The cellular rate of anticoagulant heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPGact) generation is determined by the level of a kinetically limiting microsomal activity, HSact conversion activity, which is predominantly composed of the long sought heparan sulfate D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase (3-OST) (Shworak, N. W., Fritze, L. M. S., Liu, J., Butler, L. D., and Rosenberg, R. D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 27063-27071; Liu, J., Shworak, N. W., Fritze, L. M. S., Edelberg, J. M., and Rosenberg, R. D. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 27072-27082). Mouse 3-OST cDNAs were isolated by proteolyzing the purified enzyme with Lys-C, sequencing the resultant peptides as well as the existing amino terminus, employing degenerate polymerase chain reaction primers corresponding to the sequences of the peptides as well as the amino terminus to amplify a fragment from LTA cDNA, and utilizing the resultant probe to obtain full-length enzyme cDNAs from a lambda Zap Express LTA cDNA library. Human 3-OST cDNAs were isolated by searching the expressed sequence tag data bank with the mouse sequence, identifying a partial-length human cDNA and utilizing the clone as a probe to isolate a full-length enzyme cDNA from a lambda TriplEx human brain cDNA library. The expression of wild-type mouse 3-OST as well as protein A-tagged mouse enzyme by transient transfection of COS-7 cells and the expression of both wild-type mouse and human 3-OST by in vitro transcription/translation demonstrate that the two cDNAs directly encode both HSact conversion and 3-OST activities. The mouse 3-OST cDNAs exhibit three different size classes because of a 5'-untranslated region of variable length, which results from the insertion of 0-1629 base pairs (bp) between residues 216 and 217; however, all cDNAs contain the same open reading frame of 933 bp. The length of the 3'-untranslated region ranges from 301 to 430 bp. The nucleic acid sequence of mouse and human 3-OST cDNAs are approximately 85% similar, encoding novel 311- and 307-amino acid proteins of 35,876 and 35,750 daltons, respectively, that are 93% similar. The encoded enzymes are predicted to be intraluminal Golgi residents, presumably interacting via their C-terminal regions with an integral membrane protein. Both 3-OST species exhibit five potential N-glycosylation sites, which account for the apparent discrepancy between the molecular masses of the encoded enzyme (approximately 34 kDa) and the previously purified enzyme (approximately 46 kDa). The two 3-OST species also exhibit approximately 50% similarity with all previously identified forms of the heparan biosynthetic enzyme N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase, which suggests that heparan biosynthetic enzymes share a common sulfotransferase domain.

Enzymatic preparation of heparin oligosaccharides containing antithrombin III binding sites

Two new oligosaccharides were prepared from heparin by its partial depolymerization using heparin lyase I (EC 4.2.2.7) in an attempt to prepare oligosaccharides having intact antithrombin III binding sites. The oligosaccharides were purified by chromatography on the basis of both size and charge and demonstrated a high level of purity by capillary electrophoresis. One- and two-dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy at 500 MHz revealed the structure of each oligosaccharide. The octasaccharide and decasaccharide are DeltaUAp2S(1-->4)-alpha-DGlcNpS6S(1-->4)-alpha-L-IdoAp (1-->4)-alpha-D -GlcNpAc6S(1-->4)-betaD-GlcAp(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpS 3S6S(1-->4)-alpha- L-IdoAp2S(1-->4)alpha-D-GlcNpS6S (where DeltaUAp is 4-deoxy-alpha-L-threo-hex-enopyranosyluronic acid, GlcNp is 2-amino-2-deoxy-glucopyranose, GlcAp is glucopyranosyluronic acid, S is sulfate and Ac is acetate) and DeltaUAp2S(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpS6S(1-->4)-alpha-L-IdoAp++ +(1-->4)-alpha- D-GlcNpAc6S (1-->4)-beta-D-GlcAp(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpS3S6S(1-->4)-alpha- L-IdoAp2S (1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpS6S(1-->4)-alpha-L-IdoAp2S(1-->4)-alpha -D-GlcNpS 6S, respectively. A hexasaccharide containing a similar structural motif to that found in the antithrombin III binding site and having greatly reduced anticoagulant activity was also isolated. The structure of the hexasaccharide is DeltaUAp2S(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpAc6S(1-->4)-beta-D-GlcAp++ +(1-->4)-alpha- D-GlcNpS3S6S(1-->4)-alpha-L-IdoAp(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpS6S . The octasaccharide and decasaccharide correspond to the predominant structural motif found in porcine intestinal mucosal heparin. Sufficient quantities of the decasaccharide were obtained to examine its interaction with antithrombin III using microtitration calorimetry. This decasaccharide bound to antithrombin III with similar avidity as heparin and showed comparable anticoagulant activity, as determined using an antithrombin III dependent anti-factor Xa assay. Interestingly, while both decasaccharide and heparin bound to antithrombin with nanomolar affinity, very little heat of binding was observed.

Structures of five sulfated hexasaccharides prepared from porcine intestinal heparin using bacterial heparinase. Structural variants with apparent biosynthetic precursor-product relationships for the antithrombin III-binding site

Porcine intestinal heparin was extensively digested with Flavobacterium heparinase and size-fractionated by gel chromatography. Subfractionation of the hexasaccharide fraction by anion exchange high pressure liquid chromatography yielded 10 fractions. Six contained oligosaccharides derived from the repeating disaccharide region, whereas four contained glycoserines from the glycosaminoglycan-protein linkage region. The latter structures were reported recently (Sugahara, K., Tsuda, H., Yoshida, K., Yamada, S., de Beer, T., and Vliegenthart, J.F.G. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 22914-22923). In this study, the structures of one tetra- and five hexasaccharides from the repeat region were determined by chemical and enzymatic analyses as well as 500-MHz 1H NMR spectroscopy. The tetrasaccharide has the hexasulfated structure typical of heparin. The five hexa- or heptasulfated hexasaccharides share the common core pentasulfated structure delta HexA(2S) alpha 1-4GlcN-(NS, 6S) alpha 1-4IdoA alpha/GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(6S) alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN (NS) with one or two additional sulfate groups (delta HexA, GlcN, IdoA, and GlcA represent 4-deoxy-alpha-L-threo-hex-4-enepyranosyluronic acid, D-glucosamine, L-iduronic acid, and D-glucuronic acid, whereas 2S, 6S and NS stand for 2-O-, 6-O-, and 2-N-sulfate, respectively). Three components have the following hitherto unreported structures: delta HexA(2S) alpha 1-4GlcN(NS, 6S) alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(NS, 6S) alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(NS,6S), delta HexA(2S) alpha 1-4GlcN(NS, 6S) alpha 1-4IdoA alpha 1-4GlcNAc(6S)-alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(NS, 3S), and delta HexA(2S) alpha 1-4GlcN-(NS,6S) alpha 1-4IdoA (2S) alpha 1-4GlcNAc(6S) alpha 1-4GlcA beta 1-4GlcN(NS, 6S). Two of the five hexasaccharides are structural variants derived from the antithrombin III-binding sites containing 3-O-sulfated GlcN at the reducing termini with or without a 6-O-sulfate group on the reducing N,3-disulfated GlcN residue. Another contains the structure identical to that of the above heptasulfated antithrombin III-binding site fragment but lacks the 3-O-sulfate group and therefore is a pro-form for the binding site. Another has an extra sulfate group on the internal IdoA residue of this pro-form and therefore can be considered to have diverged from the binding site in the biosynthetic pathway. Thus, the isolated hexasacharides in this study include the three overlapping pairs of structural variants with an apparent biosynthetic precursor-product relationship, which may reflect biosynthetic regulatory mechanisms of the binding site.

Biosynthesis of heparin/heparan sulfate. The D-glucosaminyl 3-O-sulfotransferase reaction: target and inhibitor saccharides

O-Sulfation at C-3 of N-sulfated GlcN units concludes polymer modification and the formation of antithrombin binding regions in the biosynthesis of heparin/heparan sulfate. The resulting GlcNSO3(3-OSO3) units are largely restricted to heparin chains with high affinity for antithrombin (HA heparin). Low affinity (LA) heparin fails to serve as a substrate in the 3-O-sulfotransferase reaction yet contains potential 3-O-sulfate acceptor sites (Kusche, M., Torri, G., Casu, B., and Lindahl, U. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 7292-7300), as verified in the present study using a novel sequencing procedure. O-Desulfated, re-N-sulfated LA heparin, as well as an octasaccharide fraction isolated after heparinase I digestion of LA heparin, both yielded labeled HA components following incubation with solubilized mouse mastocytoma microsomal enzymes and [35S]adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'phosphosulfate (PAPS), suggesting that the 3-O-sulfo-transferase may be inhibited by sulfated saccharide sequences outside the 3-O-sulfate acceptor region. Indeed, the addition of LA heparin precluded enzymatic 3-O-sulfation of a synthetic pentasaccharide substrate. The Km for the pentasaccharide was determined to approximately be 6 microM. Incubations of mixed pentasaccharide substrate and saccharide inhibitors revealed Ki values for intact LA heparin and for a heparin octasaccharide fraction of approximately 1.3 and approximately 0.7 microM, respectively. Inhibition experiments with selectively desulfated heparin indicated that both IdoA 2-O-sulfate and GlcN 6-O-sulfate groups contributed to the inhibition of the 3-O-sulfotransferase. By contrast, chondroitin sulfate or dermatan sulfate showed no significant inhibitory activity. It is proposed that the regulation of GlcN 3-O-sulfation during biosynthesis of heparin/heparan sulfate depends on the topological organization of the membrane-bound enzyme machinery in the intact cell.

Characterisation by LSI-MS and 1H NMR spectroscopy of tetra-, hexa-, and octa-saccharides of porcine intestinal heparin

The characterisation of oligosaccharide fragments isolated from enzymatically depolymerised porcine intestinal heparin is required in order to probe structure/function relationships of heparin in anticoagulation, antiangiogenesis and antiviral activity. We have used both LSI-MS and 600-MHz 1H NMR with chemical shift assignment by comprehensive 1H-1H TOCSY experiments to fully characterise the major oligosaccharide components including 4 tetrasaccharides, 3 hexasaccharides, and 2 octasaccharides. One of the octasaccharides has not been identified previously and has the structure: delta UA(2S)-GlcNS(6S)-IdoA(2S)-GlcNS(6S)-IdoA(2S)- GlcNS(6S)-GlcA-GlcNS(6S), where delta UA is 4,5-unsaturated uronic acid (4-deoxy-alpha-L-threo-hex-4-enopyranosyluronic acid), GlcN is --> 4)-alpha-D-glucosamine, IdoA is --> 4)-alpha-L-iduronic acid, GlcA is --> 4)-beta-D-glucuronic acid, and 2-O-, 6-O-, and 2-N-sulfate are abbreviated to 2S, 6S, and NS, respectively. Nearly complete NMR proton chemical shifts are reported for this data set. In addition a novel approach involving oxymercuration-lipid conjugation was used to independently assign sulfate substitution on the delta UA residues.

Isolation and characterization of hexasaccharides derived from heparin. Analysis by HPLC and elucidation of structure by 1H NMR

Four hexasaccharides representing major structural sequences of heparin were isolated and characterized after degradation of heparin by heparinase. The structures were determined from two-dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy including TOCSY (total correlated spectroscopy), COSY (correlated spectroscopy), and ROESY (rotating frame nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy) methods, providing new data on hexasaccharides. One of the hexasaccharides, the last eluting component from anion exchange chromatography, was derived from the tri-sulfated repeating disaccharide, alpha-L-idopyranosyluronic acid 2-sulfate-(1-->4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose 6,N-disulfate, and having the structure delta UAp2S-(1)-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- IdoAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- IdoAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S. The second hexasaccharide contained a nonsulfated D-glucuronic acid unit instead of the L-iduronic acid adjacent to the reducing end, and having the structure delta UAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- IdoAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-beta-D- GlcAp-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S. The last two hexasaccharides were obtained in lower yield and they have not been isolated and characterized before. The structure of the third saccharide corresponded to a trimer of the repeating disaccharide except for the lack of a 6-O-sulfate group at the reducing end glucosamine residue; deltaUAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-Glcnp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- IdoAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L-IdoAp2S -(1-->4)-alpha- D-GlcNp2S. The fourth and last hexasaccharide were less sulfated and the following structure was established delta UAp2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- Idop2S-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp2S6S-(1-->4)-alpha-L- IdoAp-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNpAc6S. Analysis of the ROESY spectra revealed conformational difference of the glucosidic linkage alpha-L-IdoAp-(1-->4)-alpha-D-GlcNp between the hexasaccharides and longer heparin chains.

Enzymatic degradation of glycosaminoglycans

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) play an intricate role in the extracellular matrix (ECM), not only as soluble components and polyelectrolytes, but also by specific interactions with growth factors and other transient components of the ECM. Modifications of GAG chains, such as isomerization, sulfation, and acetylation, generate the chemical specificity of GAGs. GAGs can be depolymerized enzymatically either by eliminative cleavage with lyases (EC 4.2.2.-) or by hydrolytic cleavage with hydrolases (EC 3.2.1.-). Often, these enzymes are specific for residues in the polysaccharide chain with certain modifications. As such, the enzymes can serve as tools for studying the physiological effect of residue modifications and as models at the molecular level of protein-GAG recognition. This review examines the structure of the substrates, the properties of enzymatic degradation, and the enzyme substrate-interactions at a molecular level. The primary structure of several GAGs is organized macroscopically by segregation into alternating blocks of specific sulfation patterns and microscopically by formation of oligosaccharide sequences with specific binding functions. Among GAGs, considerable dermatan sulfate, heparin and heparan sulfate show conformational flexibility in solution. They elicit sequence-specific interactions with enzymes that degrade them, as well as with other proteins, however, the effect of conformational flexibility on protein-GAG interactions is not clear. Recent findings have established empirical rules of substrate specificity and elucidated molecular mechanisms of enzyme-substrate interactions for enzymes that degrade GAGs. Here we propose that local formation of polysaccharide secondary structure is determined by the immediate sequence environment within the GAG polymer, and that this secondary structure, in turn, governs the binding and catalytic interactions between proteins and GAGs.