Selective inhibition of the bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis by the new types of liposidomycins. (1/74)

We examined the inhibitory activity against bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis, mammalian glycoprotein biosynthesis and growth of BALB/3T3 cells of four different types of liposidomycins which have the structure with or without sulfate and/or 3-methylglutaric acid moieties. Liposidomycins inhibited peptidoglycan biosynthesis about 30 to 500 times more effectively than tunicamycin, whereas liposidomycins inhibited mammalian glycoprotein biosynthesis about 30 to 300 times less effectively than tunicamycin. When the cytotoxic effect of liposidomycins and tunicamycin on the growth of mammalian cells were compared, liposidomycins did not show toxicity against BALB/3T3 cell at 25 microg/ml, though tunicamycin inhibited cell growth by 50% at 0.05 microg/ml. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that liposidomycins are selective antibiotics showing highly specific inhibition toward bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis.  (+info)

Regulation of the biosynthesis of N-acetylglucosaminylpyrophosphoryldolichol, feedback and product inhibition. (2/74)

The assembly of the core oligosaccharide region of asparagine-linked glycoproteins proceeds by means of the dolichol pathway. The first step of this pathway, the reaction of dolichol phosphate with UDP-GlcNAc to form N-acetylglucosaminylpyrophosphoryldolichol (GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol), is under investigation as a possible site of metabolic regulation. This report describes feedback inhibition of this reaction by the second intermediate of the pathway, N-acetylglucosaminyl-N-acetylglucosaminylpyrophosphoryldolichol (GlcNAc-GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol), and product inhibition by GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol itself. These influences were revealed when the reactions were carried out in the presence of showdomycin, a nucleoside antibiotic, present at concentrations that block the de novo formation of GlcNAc-GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol but not that of GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol. The apparent K(i) values for GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol and GlcNAc-GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol under basal conditions were 4.4 and 2.8 microM, respectively. Inhibition was also observed under conditions where mannosyl-P-dolichol (Man-P-dol) stimulated the biosynthesis of GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol; the apparent K(i) values for GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol and GlcNAc-GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol were 2.2 and 11 microM, respectively. Kinetic analysis of the types of inhibition indicated competitive inhibition by GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol toward the substrate UDP-GlcNAc and non-competitive inhibition toward dolichol phosphate. Inhibition by GlcNAc-GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol was uncompetitive toward UDP-GlcNAc and competitive toward dolichol phosphate. A model is presented for the kinetic mechanism of the synthesis of GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol. GlcNAc-P-P-dolichol also exerts a stimulatory effect on the biosynthesis of Man-P-dol, i.e. a reciprocal relationship to that previously observed between these two intermediates of the dolichol pathway. This network of inhibitory and stimulatory influences may be aspects of metabolic control of the pathway and thus of glycoprotein biosynthesis in general.  (+info)

Requirement of the Lec35 gene for all known classes of monosaccharide-P-dolichol-dependent glycosyltransferase reactions in mammals. (3/74)

The Lec35 gene product (Lec35p) is required for utilization of the mannose donor mannose-P-dolichol (MPD) in synthesis of both lipid-linked oligosaccharides (LLOs) and glycosylphosphatidylinositols, which are important for functions such as protein folding and membrane anchoring, respectively. The hamster Lec35 gene is shown to encode the previously identified cDNA SL15, which corrects the Lec35 mutant phenotype and predicts a novel endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein. The mutant hamster alleles Lec35.1 and Lec35.2 are characterized, and the human Lec35 gene (mannose-P-dolichol utilization defect 1) was mapped to 17p12-13. To determine whether Lec35p was required only for MPD-dependent mannosylation of LLO and glycosylphosphatidylinositol intermediates, two additional lipid-mediated reactions were investigated: MPD-dependent C-mannosylation of tryptophanyl residues, and glucose-P-dolichol (GPD)-dependent glucosylation of LLO. Both were found to require Lec35p. In addition, the SL15-encoded protein was selective for MPD compared with GPD, suggesting that an additional GPD-selective Lec35 gene product remains to be identified. The predicted amino acid sequence of Lec35p does not suggest an obvious function or mechanism. By testing the water-soluble MPD analog mannose-beta-1-P-citronellol in an in vitro system in which the MPD utilization defect was preserved by permeabilization with streptolysin-O, it was determined that Lec35p is not directly required for the enzymatic transfer of mannose from the donor to the acceptor substrate. These results show that Lec35p has an essential role for all known classes of monosaccharide-P-dolichol-dependent reactions in mammals. The in vitro data suggest that Lec35p controls an aspect of MPD orientation in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane that is crucial for its activity as a donor substrate.  (+info)

Anomeric configuration of N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphorylundecaprenols formed in Bacillus cereus Membranes. (4/74)

The structural difference was studied between two N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphorylundecaprenols formed by incubation of Bacillus cereus membranes with UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. On the treatment with 50% phenol, the major one of these glycolipids (Lipid 1) yielded a saccharide phosphate, while the other (Lipid 2) yielded N-acetylglucosamine along with a saccharide phosphate. The saccharide phosphates from Lipids 1 and 2 were identified as alpha-N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate and its beta-anomer, respectively, based on their susceptibility to acid, alpha- and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidases, and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase. Thus, it seems most probable that Lipids 1 and 2 were alpha- and beta-N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphorylundecaprenols, respectively.  (+info)

Common origin and evolution of glycosyltransferases using Dol-P-monosaccharides as donor substrate. (5/74)

On the basis of the analysis of 64 glycosyltransferases from 14 species we propose that several successive duplications of a common ancestral gene, followed by divergent evolution, have generated the mannosyltransferases and the glucosyltransferases involved in asparagine-linked glycosylation (ALG) and phosphatidyl-inositol glycan anchor (PIG or GPI), which use lipid-related donor and acceptor substrates. Long and short conserved peptide motifs were found in all enzymes. Conserved and identical amino acid positions were found for the alpha 2/6- and the alpha 3/4-mannosyltransferases and for the alpha 2/3-glucosyltransferases, suggesting unique ancestors for these three superfamilies. The three members of the alpha 2-mannosyltransferase family (ALG9, PIG-B, and SMP3) and the two members of the alpha 3-glucosyltransferase family (ALG6 and ALG8) shared 11 and 30 identical amino acid positions, respectively, suggesting that these enzymes have also originated by duplication and divergent evolution. This model predicts a common genetic origin for ALG and PIG enzymes using dolichyl-phospho-monosaccharide (Dol-P-monosaccharide) donors, which might be related to similar spatial orientation of the hydroxyl acceptors. On the basis of the multiple sequence analysis and the prediction of transmembrane topology we propose that the endoplasmic reticulum glycosyltransferases using Dol-P-monosaccharides as donor substrate have a multispan transmembrane topology with a first large luminal conserved loop containing the long motif and a small cytosolic conserved loop containing the short motif, different from the classical type II glycosyltransferases, which are anchored in the Golgi by a single transmembrane domain.  (+info)

In vivo interaction between the polyprenol phosphate mannose synthase Ppm1 and the integral membrane protein Ppm2 from Mycobacterium smegmatis revealed by a bacterial two-hybrid system. (6/74)

Dolichol phosphate-mannose (Dol-P-Man) is a mannose donor in various eukaryotic glycosylation processes. So far, two groups of Dol-P-Man synthases have been characterized based on the way they are stabilized in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Enzymes belonging to the first group, such as the yeast Dpm1, are typical integral membrane proteins harboring a transmembrane segment (TMS) at their C terminus. In contrast, mammalian Dpm1, enzymes of the second group, lack the typical TMS and require the association with the small hydrophobic proteins Dpm3 to be properly stabilized in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the Polyprenol-P-Man synthase MtPpm1 is involved in the biosynthesis of the cell wall-associated glycolipid lipoarabinomannan. MtPpm1 is composed of two domains. The C-terminal catalytic domain is homologous to eukaryotic Dol-P-Man synthases. The N-terminal domain of MtPpm1 contains six TMS that anchor the enzyme in the cytoplasmic membrane. In contrast, in Mycobacterium smegmatis, orthologs of the two domains of MtPpm1 are encoded by two distinct open reading frames, Msppm1 and Msppm2, organized as an operon. No TMS are predicted in MsPpm1, and subcellular fractionation experiments indicate that this enzyme is cytosolic when produced in Escherichia coli. Computer-assisted topology predictions and alkaline phosphatase insertions showed that MsPpm2 is an integral membrane protein. Using a recently developed bacterial two-hybrid system, it was found that MsPpm2 interacts with MsPpm1 to stabilize the synthase MsPpm1 in the bacterial membrane. This interaction is reminiscent of that of mammalian Dpm1 with Dpm3 and mimics the structure of MtPpm1 as demonstrated by the capacity of the two domains of MtPpm1 to spontaneously interact when co-expressed in E. coli.  (+info)

A new type of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG-Ii) provides new insights into the early steps of dolichol-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis. (7/74)

Deficiency of GDP-Man:Man1GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol mannosyltransferase (hALG2), is the cause of a new type of congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) designated CDG-Ii. The patient presented normal at birth but developed in the 1st year of life a multisystemic disorder with mental retardation, seizures, coloboma of the iris, hypomyelination, hepatomegaly, and coagulation abnormalities. An accumulation of Man1GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol and Man2GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol was observed in skin fibroblasts of the patient. Incubation of patient fibroblast extracts with Man1GlcNAc2-PP-dolichol and GDP-mannose revealed a severely reduced activity of the mannosyltransferase elongating Man1GlcNAc2-PP dolichol. Because the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant alg2-1 was known to accumulate the same shortened dolichol-linked oligosaccharides as the patient, the yeast ALG2 sequence was used to identify the human ortholog. Genetic analysis revealed that the patient was heterozygous for a single nucleotide deletion and a single nucleotide substitution in the human ortholog of yeast ALG2. Expression of wild type but not of mutant hALG2 cDNA restored the mannosyltransferase activity and the biosynthesis of dolichol-linked oligosaccharides both in patient fibroblasts and in the alg2-1 yeast cells. hALG2 was shown to act as an alpha1,3-mannosyltransferase. The resulting Manalpha1,3-ManGlcNAc2-PP dolichol is further elongated by a yet unknown alpha1,6-mannosyltransferase.  (+info)

Biosynthesis of mycobacterial phosphatidylinositol mannosides. (8/74)

All mycobacterial species, including pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis, synthesize an abundant class of phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs) that are essential for normal growth and viability. These glycolipids are important cell-wall and/or plasma-membrane components in their own right and can also be hyperglycosylated to form other wall components, such as lipomannan and lipoarabinomannan. We have investigated the steps involved in the biosynthesis of the major PIM species in a new M. smegmatis cell-free system. A number of apolar and polar PIM intermediates were labelled when this system was continuously labelled or pulse-chase-labelled with GDP-[3H]Man, and the glycan head groups and the acylation states of these species were determined by chemical and enzymic treatments and octyl-Sepharose chromatography respectively. These analyses showed that (1) the major apolar PIM species, acyl-PIM2, can be synthesized by at least two pathways that differ in the timing of the first acylation step, (2) early PIM intermediates containing a single mannose residue can be modified with two fatty acid residues, (3) formation of polar PIM species from acyl-PIM2 is amphomycin-sensitive, indicating that polyprenol phosphate-Man, rather than GDP-Man, is the donor for these reactions, (4) modification of acylated PIM4 with alpha1-2- or alpha1-6-linked mannose residues is probably the branch point in the biosyntheses of polar PIM and lipoarabinomannan respectively and (5) GDP strongly inhibits the synthesis of early PIM intermediates and increases the turnover of polyprenol phosphate-Man. These findings are incorporated into a revised pathway for mycobacterial PIM biosynthesis.  (+info)