Lignocellulose degradation by Phanerochaete chrysosporium: purification and characterization of the main alpha-galactosidase. (1/449)

The main alpha-galactosidase was purified to homogeneity, in 30% yield, from a solid culture of Phanerochaete chrysosporium on 1 part wheat bran/2 parts thermomechanical softwood pulp. It is a glycosylated tetramer of 50 kDa peptide chains, which gives the N-terminal sequence ADNGLAITPQMG(?W)NT(?W)NHFG(?W)DIS(?W)DTI. It is remarkably stable, with crude extracts losing no activity over 3 h at 80 degrees C, and the purified enzyme retaining its activity over several months at 4 degrees C. The kinetics of hydrolysis at 25 degrees C of various substrates by this retaining enzyme were measured, absolute parameters being obtained by active-site titration with 2',4',6'-trinitrophenyl 2-deoxy-2, 2-difluoro-alpha-D-galactopyranoside. The variation of kcat/Km for 1-naphthyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside with pH is bell-shaped, with pK1=1.91 and pK2=5.54. The alphaD(V/K) value for p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside is 1.031+/-0.007 at the optimal pH of 3.75 and 1.114+/-0.006 at pH7.00, indicating masking of the intrinsic effect at optimal pH. There is no alpha-2H effect on binding galactose [alphaD(Ki)=0.994+/-0.013]. The enzyme hydrolyses p-nitrophenyl beta-L-arabinopyranoside approximately 510 times slower than the galactoside, but has no detectable activity on the alpha-D-glucopyranoside or alpha-D-mannopyranoside. Hydrolysis of alpha-galactosides with poor leaving groups is Michaelian, but that of substrates with good leaving groups exhibits pronounced apparent substrate inhibition, with Kis values similar to Km values. We attribute this to the binding of the second substrate molecule to a beta-galactopyranosyl-enzyme intermediate, forming an E.betaGal. alphaGalX complex which turns over slowly, if at all. 1-Fluoro-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl fluoride, unlike alpha-D-galactopyranosyl fluoride, is a Michaelian substrate, indicating that the effect of 1-fluorine substitution is greater on the first than on the second step of the enzyme reaction.  (+info)

Aging accentuates and bone marrow transplantation ameliorates metabolic defects in Fabry disease mice. (2/449)

Fabry disease is an X-linked metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-Gal A). The enzyme defect leads to the systemic accumulation of glycosphingolipids with alpha-galactosyl moieties consisting predominantly of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3). In patients with this disorder, glycolipid deposition in endothelial cells leads to renal failure and cardiac and cerebrovascular disease. Recently, we generated alpha-Gal A gene knockout mouse lines and described the phenotype of 10-week-old mice. In the present study, we characterize the progression of the disease with aging and explore the effects of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) on the phenotype. Histopathological analysis of alpha-Gal A -/0 mice revealed subclinical lesions in the Kupffer cells in the liver and macrophages in the skin with no gross lesions in the endothelial cells. Gb3 accumulation and pathological lesions in the affected organs increased with age. Treatment with BMT from the wild-type mice resulted in the clearance of accumulated Gb3 in the liver, spleen, and heart with concomitant elevation of alpha-Gal A activity. These findings suggest that BMT may have a potential role in the management of patients with Fabry disease.  (+info)

Differential expression of three alpha-galactosidase genes and a single beta-galactosidase gene from Aspergillus niger. (3/449)

A gene encoding a third alpha-galactosidase (AglB) from Aspergillus niger has been cloned and sequenced. The gene consists of an open reading frame of 1,750 bp containing six introns. The gene encodes a protein of 443 amino acids which contains a eukaryotic signal sequence of 16 amino acids and seven putative N-glycosylation sites. The mature protein has a calculated molecular mass of 48,835 Da and a predicted pI of 4.6. An alignment of the AglB amino acid sequence with those of other alpha-galactosidases revealed that it belongs to a subfamily of alpha-galactosidases that also includes A. niger AglA. A. niger AglC belongs to a different subfamily that consists mainly of prokaryotic alpha-galactosidases. The expression of aglA, aglB, aglC, and lacA, the latter of which encodes an A. niger beta-galactosidase, has been studied by using a number of monomeric, oligomeric, and polymeric compounds as growth substrates. Expression of aglA is only detected on galactose and galactose-containing oligomers and polymers. The aglB gene is expressed on all of the carbon sources tested, including glucose. Elevated expression was observed on xylan, which could be assigned to regulation via XlnR, the xylanolytic transcriptional activator. Expression of aglC was only observed on glucose, fructose, and combinations of glucose with xylose and galactose. High expression of lacA was detected on arabinose, xylose, xylan, and pectin. Similar to aglB, the expression on xylose and xylan can be assigned to regulation via XlnR. All four genes have distinct expression patterns which seem to mirror the natural substrates of the encoded proteins.  (+info)

Molecular cloning of a human UDP-galactose:GlcNAcbeta1,3GalNAc beta1, 3 galactosyltransferase gene encoding an O-linked core3-elongation enzyme. (4/449)

Using the full-length amino-acid sequences of the human beta1,3 galactosyltransferase (beta3GalT)-I, -II and III enzymes as query, we have identified an additional member of the beta3GalT gene family within a sequenced region of the human chromosome 21 as found in GenBank. The novel human beta3GalT-V gene included an open reading frame of 933 bp encoding a protein of 310 amino acids with a short N-terminal cytoplasmic tail, a single predicted transmembrane domain and a large lumenal catalytic domain. The human beta3GalT-V protein showed 34%, 27%, 31% and 23% sequence identity with the human beta3GalT-I, -II, -III and -IV enzymes, respectively. The expression of beta3GalT-V as a recombinant protein in Sf9 insect cells confirmed the galactosyltransferase activity catalyzed by this enzyme. Similarly to beta3GalT-I, -II and -III, the beta3GalT-V enzyme used beta-linked GlcNAc as an acceptor, but unlike the former enzymes beta3GalT-V exhibited a marked preference for the O-linked core3 GlcNAcbeta1,3GalNAc substrate. The beta3GalT-V gene was mainly expressed in human small intestine and to a lesser extent in pancreas and testis. Although beta3GalT-V transcripts were not detected in normal colon tissue, based on Northern analysis, beta3GalT-V mRNA was found in the adenocarcinoma cell line Colo 205.  (+info)

Fifteen-year follow-up of a heterozygous Fabry's disease patient associated with pre-excitation syndrome. (5/449)

A 47-year-old woman with heterozygous Fabry's disease with pre-excitation syndrome has been followed up for 15 years. Diagnosis was confirmed by the typical electron microscopic feature of the endomyocardial specimen and a decreased plasma alpha-galactosidase activity. As the disease progressed, the interventricular septum thickened from 11 to 17 mm as measured by echocardiography, while the AH interval was prolonged from 80 to 140 msec. In Fabry's disease, the PR interval has been reported to be variable from short PR to AV block. Therefore, this case may be helpful to understand the time course in the AV conduction abnormalities with the progression of Fabry's disease.  (+info)

Purification and characterization of recombinant Mortierella vinacea alpha-galactosidases I and II expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (6/449)

The cDNAs coding for Mortierella vinacea alpha-galactosidases I and II were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under the control of the yeast GAL10 promoter. The recombinant enzymes purified to homogeneity from the culture filtrate were glycosylated, and had properties identical to those of the native enzymes except for improving the heat stability of alpha-galactosidase II and decreasing the specific activities of both enzymes.  (+info)

Cloning of the gene encoding a novel thermostable alpha-galactosidase from Thermus brockianus ITI360. (7/449)

An alpha-galactosidase gene from Thermus brockianus ITI360 was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant protein was purified. The gene, designated agaT, codes for a 476-residue polypeptide with a calculated molecular mass of 53, 810 Da. The native structure of the recombinant enzyme (AgaT) was estimated to be a tetramer. AgaT displays amino acid sequence similarity to the alpha-galactosidases of Thermotoga neapolitana and Thermotoga maritima and a low-level sequence similarity to alpha-galactosidases of family 36 in the classification of glycosyl hydrolases. The enzyme is thermostable, with a temperature optimum of activity at 93 degrees C with para-nitrophenyl-alpha-galactopyranoside as a substrate. Half-lives of inactivation at 92 and 80 degrees C are 100 min and 17 h, respectively. The pH optimum is between 5.5 and 6.5. The enzyme displayed high affinity for oligomeric substrates. The K(m)s for melibiose and raffinose at 80 degrees C were determined as 4.1 and 11.0 mM, respectively. The alpha-galactosidase gene in T. brockianus ITI360 was inactivated by integrational mutagenesis. Consequently, no alpha-galactosidase activity was detectable in crude extracts of the mutant strain, and it was unable to use melibiose or raffinose as a single carbohydrate source.  (+info)

Gene assignment in the spider monkey (Ateles paniscus chamek--APC): APE-MYH7 to 2q; AR-GLA-F8C to the X chromosome. (8/449)

Comparative gene assignment between the spider monkey species Ateles paniscus chamek (APC) and man (HSA) showed conserved syntenic associations despite extensive karyotypic rearrangement between species. Two HSA 14q genes were allocated to APC 2q, being syntenic to other HSA 14q and HSA 15q markers previously assigned to APC 2q, and to HSA 12q genes previously assigned to APC 2p. These findings were consistent with A. geoffroyi chromosome painting with human whole-chromosome probes, indicating that the genus Ateles is karyotypically very rearranged. On the other hand, three human X-linked markers were assigned to the Ateles X chromosome, indicating that this chromosome is evolutionary stable.  (+info)

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