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Vol. 14, Issue 8, 3482-3493, August 2003
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* Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University
of Amsterdam, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
Department of Cell Biology, University Medical Center G02.525, Institute of
Biomembranes, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands;
Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden,
Germany;
Department of Membrane Enzymology, Centre for Biomembranes and Lipid
Enzymology, Institute of Biomembranes, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands;
|| Cell Biology and Biophysics Program, European Molecular Biology Laboratory,
69012 Heidelberg, Germany; and
¶ Department of Physiological Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical
Science (Rinshoken), Tokyo 113-8613, Japan
Submitted March 5, 2003;
Accepted April 11, 2003
Monitoring Editor: Vivek Malhotra
| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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Glycosphingolipids are synthesized in the Golgi, except for
galactosylceramide (GalCer), which is made in the ER by the
UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferase (GalT-1; nomenclature as in
Basu et al., 1987
).
GalT-1 belongs to the family of the ER glucuronyltransferases, type I proteins
possessing an ER retention signal in their cytosolic tail
(Schulte and Stoffel, 1993
;
Stahl et al., 1994
;
Schaeren-Wiemers et al.,
1995
; Sprong et al.,
1998
). GalT-1 preferentially galactosylates hydroxy fatty
acid-containing ceramides (Morell and
Radin, 1969
) but also uses nonhydroxy fatty acid ceramides and
diglycerides (van der Bijl et
al., 1996b
). Knockout mice lacking GalT-1 do not make GalCer
or galactosyldiglyceride, demonstrating that there is only one GalT-1
(Bosio et al., 1996
;
Coetzee et al., 1996
;
Fujimoto et al.,
2000
). The active center faces the ER lumen
(Sprong et al.,
1998
). The precursor ceramide is synthesized in the ER membrane
and is sufficiently hydrophobic to equilibrate rapidly between the two lipid
leaflets, possibly facilitated by a translocator protein. In contrast, it is
unclear how UDP-galactose reaches the ER lumen from the cytosol
(Segawa et al.,
1999
).
When GalT-1-negative cells were transfected with GalT-1, they produced
GalCer (Schaeren-Wiemers et al.,
1995
; van der Bijl et
al., 1996b
; Sprong et
al., 1998
), showing that they can import UDP-galactose into
the ER lumen. MDCKII-RCAR cells defective in Golgi UDP-galactose
import also contain very little GalCer
(Brändli et al.,
1988
). Likewise, CHOlec8 cells defective in UDP-galactose import
in the Golgi (Deutscher and Hirschberg,
1986
; Taki et al.,
1991
; Oelmann et al.,
2001
) also displayed a defect in UDP-galactose transport into the
ER (Sprong et al.,
1998
). In conclusion, various cell types import UDP-galactose into
the ER lumen, and this ability is affected in two cell lines with a mutation
in the Golgi UGT. Thus, either ER UDP-galactose import depends on the Golgi
UGT, or MDCKII-RCAR and CHOlec8 cells have mutations in both an ER
and a Golgi UDP-galactose transporter. We report that GalT-1 forms a complex
with the Golgi UGT. Only in cells expressing GalT-1, the Golgi UGT is retained
in the ER in a complex with GalT-1.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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-D-glucosylsphingosine (Sigma-Aldrich) as described
previously (Kishimoto, 1975
cDNAs and Plasmids
cDNA of rat GalT-1 was released with HindIII and XbaI
from GalT-1-pcDNA3 (van der Bijl et
al., 1996b
) and inserted in pCB7
(Hansen and Casanova, 1994
)
cut with the same enzymes. Human invariant chain p33 and a chimera carrying
the cytosolic tail of p33 and the lumenal domain of human
UDP-galactose:protein(
14)galactosyltransferase (p33-PGalT) have
been described previously (Nilsson et
al., 1994
). A plasmid with the human UGT1 bearing an
influenza virus HA epitope at the C terminus (HA-hUGT1-pMKIT-neo) was
described previously (Aoki et al.,
1999
). The myc-tagged sialyltransferase cDNA was from S. Munro
(Medical Research Council, Cambridge, United Kingdom;
Sprong et al.,
2001
).
Cell Culture and Transfection
Chinese hamster ovary lec8 cells (CHOlec8 cells; American Type Culture
Collection, Rockville, MD) were grown in DMEM containing 10% fetal calf serum
and were maintained at 37°C with 5% CO2. CHOlec8 cells were
transfected with GalT-1-pCB7, HA-hUGT1-pMKIT-neo, and the empty vectors pCB7
and pcDNA3 by using the calcium phosphate precipitation procedure
(Graham and van der Eb, 1973
).
Transfectants were cultured in DMEM containing 10% fetal calf serum and 200
U/ml hygromycin B or 0.6 mg/ml geneticin. Stable cell lines were obtained by
subcloning individual colonies. Positive clones were selected by
immunofluorescence microscopy, and expression was subsequently tested by
Western blotting (WB). Transient transfections were performed with 350 ng of
plasmid DNA/cm2 tissue culture dish, by using calcium phosphate
precipitation. Cells were assayed 23 d after transfection. Chinese
hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing a C-terminally hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged
CMP-sialic acid transporter were gratefully obtained from Rita Gerardy-Schahn
(Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany) and cultured as described
previously (Oelmann et al.,
2001
). Protein expression was induced by 5 mM sodium butyrate
(Fluka, Buchs, Germany) 1416 h before all experiments.
Subcellular Fractionation and Determination of Enzyme Activities
The fractionation was performed below 4°C. Cells were washed, and
allowed to swell in a low salt buffer (10 mM HEPES-NaOH, 15 mM KCl, 1.5 mM
MgCl2, pH 7.2) for 15 min. Cells were scraped, pelleted, and
homogenized in the same buffer by 15 passages through a 25-gauge 5/8 needle. A
postnuclear supernatant (PNS) was obtained by a 10-min 300
gmax spin. The membrane fraction was prepared by
ultracentrifugation in a SW41 rotor for 1 h at 265,000
gmax. For subcellular fractionation, a PNS was applied to
the top of a linear sucrose gradient (0.71.5 M sucrose, in 1 mM EDTA,
10 mM HEPES-NaOH pH 7.2), and the 11-ml gradient was spun in a SW41 rotor for
3 h at 265,000 gmax
(Burger et al., 1996
).
Fractions were collected from the bottom. Enzyme activities of GalT-1 and of
UDP-glucose:ceramide glucosyltransferase were determined in 250 µl of each
fraction in the presence of 10 nmol of C6-NBD-ceramide, 1% (wt/vol)
BSA, 2 mM MnCl2, 2 mM UDP-glucose, and 2 mM UDP-galactose. To
monitor the synthesis of lactosylceramide (LacCer), fractions were incubated
in the presence of 10 nmol of C6-NBD-GlcCer, 1% (wt/vol) BSA, 2 mM
MnCl2, and 2 mM UDP-galactose at 37°C in a total volume of 500
µl. When enzyme activities were determined directly on the PNS, samples
were preincubated in the absence or presence of 0.5% (wt/vol) saponin for 30
min on ice. Activities were measured in the linear range of the assay. Lipids
were extracted and separated as described previously
(Burger et al., 1996
)
and quantified on a Storm 860 (Molecular Dynamics, Sunny-vale, CA) by using
C6-NBD-phosphatidylcholine as a standard. Protein concentration was
determined by the bicinchoninic acid method (Pierce Chemical, Rockford, IL).
Esterase activity was used as an ER marker and was assayed as described
previously (Beaufay et al.,
1974
). The distribution of proteins was determined by Western
blotting, as described under "Immunoprecipitation."
Immunofluorescence Microscopy
Cells were grown on coverslips to 3050% confluence. The cells were
fixed with 3% paraformaldehyde and quenched in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)
containing 50 mM NH4Cl. Cells were then permeabilized and blocked
for 1 h in PBS, 0.5% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% saponin (blocking buffer), and
subsequently labeled with mixtures of primary antibodies in blocking buffer.
The coverslips were washed for 45 min in blocking buffer with three buffer
changes. Coverslips were incubated with 10% goat serum in blocking buffer for
20 min and subsequently counterstained for 30 min with fluorescently labeled
secondary antibodies at 1:50 dilutions in blocking buffer. The coverslips were
then washed in blocking buffer for 45 min with three buffer changes, rinsed
briefly in PBS and then water, and finally mounted in Mowiol 4-88 (Calbiochem,
La Jolla, CA) containing 2.5% 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (Sigma-Aldrich,
St. Louis, MO). The cells were examined with a confocal microscope (Leica,
Heidelberg, Germany) by using separate filters for each fluorochrome viewed
(FITC: Lex = 488 nm and Lem = 515 long pass filter;
Texas Red: Lex = 568 nm and Lem = 585 LP).
Single-labeled cells with each primary/secondary antibody combination were
examined, which showed that no bleed-through nor cross-reactivity occurred for
the given confocal conditions.
Metabolic Labeling of Cellular Lipids
Subconfluent cells on 3-cm dishes were transfected with GalT-1 or empty
vector and were incubated with 1.5-ml culture medium containing
[1-14C]acetic acid (37 kBq/ml) for 3 d. Cells were washed three
times with ice-cold PBS. Lipids were extracted and separated by
two-dimensional TLC as described previously
(Sprong et al.,
2000
), but by using chloroform/methanol/25% NH4OH
[65:25:4 (vol/vol)] as the first running solvent. Radiolabeled spots were
detected by exposure of phosphorimaging screens (Amersham Biosciences UK) and
read out on a Storm PhosphorImager (Molecular Dynamics). Spots were identified
by comparison with standards and quantified using standard software.
Immunoprecipitation and Detergent-resistant Membranes
The complete experiment was performed below 4°C. UGT-CHOlec8 cells
transiently transfected with GalT-1, p33-PGalT, or empty vector were washed,
scraped, and pelleted in low salt buffer. Cell pellets were resuspended in
lysis buffer [50 mM HEPES-NaOH, pH 7.2, 100 mM NaCl, 1 µg/ml protease
inhibitors (aprotinin, chymostatin, leupeptin, and pepstatin A, and either 1%
(wt/vol) digitonin, octylglucoside or Triton X (TX)-100] and centrifuged at
20,000 x g for 5 min. A fraction of each detergent lysate was
used to determine relative amounts of UGT by Western blotting with the anti-HA
antiserum. The remainder was incubated with anti-GalT-1 antiserum or
anti-p33-PGalT antiserum, adsorbed to protein A-Sepharose CL-4B for 1 h, and
washed four times with corresponding lysis buffer. Washed immunoprecipitates
were resuspended in reducing Laemmli sample buffer, incubated 10 min at room
temperature and 30 min at 50°C, and subjected to SDS-PAGE and Western
blotting for the HA-tagged UGT by using the anti-HA monoclonal, as described
previously (Sprong et al.,
1998
). In the test for the presence of disulfide-bonded oligomers,
the whole procedure was performed both in the presence and in absence of 20 mM
N-ethylmaleimide, an alkylating agent that prevents artificial disulfide bond
formation. For the preparation of detergent-resistant membranes a TX-100
lysate was adjusted to 1.2 ml 40% Optiprep (Nycomed, Oslo, Norway), overlaid
with 2.1 ml 30% and 0.9 ml 5% Optiprep in TX-100 lysis buffer and spun at
40,000 rpm for 4 h in a SW60 rotor (Beckman Coulter, Palo Alto, CA). Seven
600-µl fractions were collected from the top.
| RESULTS |
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36 kDa that was specifically
recognized by anti-HA antiserum Y-11
(Figure 1A), corroborating
previous findings (Aoki et al.,
1999
|
UDP-Galactose Import in ER and Golgi
As a measure of UDP-galactose import into the lumen of the ER, we assayed
the synthesis of GalCer by GalT-1, which occurs in the lumen of the ER, and
not in the Golgi (Sprong et al.,
1998
). For UDP-galactose import in the Golgi, we analyzed the
synthesis of sialyllactosylceramide (GM3). In the Golgi lumen, GlcCer is
converted to LacCer by the
UDP-galactose:glucosylceramide(
14)galactosyltransferase (GalT-2)
(Burger et al., 1996
;
Lannert et al.,
1998
). LacCer is then rapidly converted to GM3 by the CMP-sialic
acid:LacCer(
23)sialyltransferase. Transfection of CHOlec8 cells
with UGT increased GM3 synthesis from [14C]acetate two- to
threefold, indicating that UDP-galactose import in the Golgi was restored.
This was independent of the presence of GalT-1
(Figure 1, B and C). CHOlec8
cells transiently transfected with GalT-1 synthesized only minor amounts of
GalCer. Strikingly, when UGT-CHOlec8 cells were transfected with GalT-1, they
synthesized 35 times more GalCer and galactosyldiglycerides than CHOlec8 cells
that were transiently transfected with GalT-1 alone
(Figure 1, B and C). Efficient
synthesis of GalCer in the lumen of the ER required the Golgi UDP-galactose
transporter.
At least two mechanisms could explain these results. Either UGT could
import UDP-galactose directly into the ER of GalT-1/UGT-CHOlec8 cells, or
alternatively, import might occur in the Golgi and UDP-galactose could reach
the ER lumen by retrograde vesicular transport. To discriminate between these
possibilities, the activities of GalT-1 and GalT-2 were measured in a
postnuclear supernatant, which does not support vesicular traffic
(Spang and Schekman, 1998
).
When cellular membranes were permeabilized with saponin, the specific
activities of GalT-1 and GalT-2 were comparable between cells with and without
UGT, indicating that the cells expressed equal amounts of the transferases
(Table 1). In intact membranes,
the apparent GalT-2 activity in membranes from CHOlec8 and GalT-1/CHOlec8
cells was threefold lower than from the corresponding cells expressing UGT,
indicating that UGT restored UDP-galactose import in the Golgi. Similarly, the
apparent activity of GalT-1 in intact membranes from GalT-1/CHOlec8 cells was
fourfold lower than from the same cells expressing UGT. These results show
that expression of UGT relieved the block in UDP-galactose import in the ER
vesicles without the necessity for vesicular traffic, suggesting that UGT is
present in the ER membrane of these cells.
|
Cellular Localization of UGT and GalT-1
UGT has been localized to the Golgi
(Yoshioka et al.,
1997
) and GalT-1 to the ER
(Sprong et al., 1998
)
of transfected cells. Whether UGT was present in the ER of UGT-CHOlec8 cells
transfected with GalT-1 was investigated directly by subcellular fractionation
and by immunofluorescence microscopy. Subcellular fractionation on sucrose
gradients clearly discriminates ER proteins from Golgi proteins
(Figure 2). In UGT-CHOlec8
cells, esterase and UDP-glucose:ceramide glucosyltransferase activity as
markers for ER and Golgi, respectively
(Perez and Hirschberg, 1985
;
Burger et al., 1996
;
Yoshioka et al.,
1997
; Lannert et al.,
1998
), showed the ER at a higher density than the bulk of the
Golgi (Figure 2A). A Western
blot with an anti-calreticulin antibody (ER) and GalT-2 activity (Golgi;
Burger et al., 1996
;
Lannert et al., 1998
)
confirmed these locations (our unpublished data). In the cells, that were mock
transfected for GalT-1, UGT clearly located to Golgi fractions
(Figure 2B, Mock). In
UGT-CHOlec8 cells transfected with GalT-1, GalT-1 and its activity located to
ER fractions (Figure 2, B and
C), which were further identified by the ER markers esterase and
calreticulin (our unpublished data), whereas GalT-2 activity displayed a Golgi
pattern (Figure 2C) and
colocalized with the activity of the Golgi marker UDP-glucose:ceramide
glucosyltransferase (our unpublished data). Remarkably, transfection with
GalT-1 shifted a substantial fraction of UGT from Golgi to ER fractions
(Figure 2B).
|
Independently, UGT was localized by immunofluorescence microscopy. In
GalT-1/CHOlec8 cells, the staining pattern of GalT-1 overlapped with the
diffuse reticular ER and nuclear envelope staining of PDI, a resident protein
of the lumen of the ER and intermediate compartment
(Edman et al., 1985
)
(Figure 3, A and B). The
staining pattern of UGT in UGT-CHOlec8 cells overlapped with the distribution
of the cis/medial-Golgi marker CTR433
(Jasmin et al.,
1990
), and essentially no UGT signal was found outside the Golgi
area (Figure 3, C and D). In
UGT-CHOlec8 cells transfected with GalT-1, the staining pattern of GalT-1 was
the same as in GalT-1/CHOlec8 cells. Strikingly, only in the UGT-CHOlec8 cells
that expressed GalT-1 the distribution of UGT was different: A significant
portion of UGT was found outside the Golgi area and had a diffuse reticular
staining pattern that overlapped with the GalT-1 signal
(Figure 3, E and F). In
neighboring cells that did not express GalT-1, UGT was restricted to the
Golgi.
|
To determine whether redistribution of UGT by GalT-1 was specific, we
studied another Golgi nucleotide sugar transporter, the CMP-sialic acid
transporter (Oelmann et al.,
2001
). In CHO cells stably expressing an HA-tagged CMP-sialic acid
transporter, this transporter displayed a Golgi localization
(Figure 3H). In cells that were
transiently transfected with GalT-1, GalT-1 localized to the ER
(Figure 3G), but no Golgi-to-ER
shift of the transporter was observed
(Figure 3H), showing that the
shift by GalT-1 was specific for the UGT.
To extend these findings to cells that naturally express GalT-1, we
compared the localization of UGT-1 in the human hepatocyte cell line HepG2,
which does not express GalT-1 activity
(Burger et al., 1996
),
to that in the human Caco-2 intestinal cell line, which does
(van der Bijl et al.,
1996a
). Because antibodies to study the native UGT were not
available, both cell lines were transiently transfected with the HA-tagged
human UGT construct. In the human liver cells UGT selectively localized to the
Golgi (Figure 4B) as marked by
CTR433 (Figure 4A), in line
with studies on transport activity (Perez
and Hirschberg, 1985
). However, in the human intestinal cells,
which have endogenous GalT-1, a significant fraction of the transfected UGT
displayed the typical ER labeling pattern
(Figure 4D). To confirm that
retention of transfected UGT in the ER was specific, we transfected Caco-2
cells with myc-tagged sialyltransferase, another Golgi membrane protein
(Sprong et al.,
2001
). Immunofluorescence experiments documented that this protein
was localized to the Golgi complex and not retained aspecifically in the ER of
transfected Caco-2 cells (Figure
4F).
|
Interaction between UGT and GalT-1
To test whether UGT is retained in the ER of GalT-1expressing cells
by a specific interaction with GalT-1, we assayed oligomerization of the two
proteins. For this, we assessed whether UGT was coimmunoprecipitated with
GalT-1 from TX-100 lysates. After precipitation of GalT-1 from
GalT-1transfected UGT-CHOlec8 cells, the immunoprecipitates were
separated by SDS-PAGE and blotted with anti-HA monoclonal to detect UGT. As
shown in Figure 5A, UGT was
indeed coimmunoprecipitated by anti-GalT-1 antibodies from UGT-CHOlec8 cells
that were transfected with GalT-1, but not from mock-transfected cells. This
shows that UGT is associated with GalT-1 in the TX-100 lysate.
|
To rule out that the coprecipitation of UGT and GalT-1 was caused by their
presence in ER membrane domains that were insoluble in TX-100 in the cold
(Bagnat et al., 2000
),
we first analyzed fractionation of both proteins with detergent-resistant
membranes (1% TX-100) by a standard flotation protocol
(Bagnat et al., 2000
),
under the conditions where UGT was coimmunoprecipitated by anti-GalT-1
antibodies (Figure 5A).
p62(yes) floated in the gradient and was used as a positive control
(McCabe and Berthiaume, 2001
),
whereas the ER membrane protein calnexin served as a negative control. We
found no evidence for cofractionation of UGT with p62(yes) on the gradient in
the absence nor in the presence of GalT-1
(Figure 5C). We also performed
the co-immunoprecipitations on cell lysates prepared with octylglucoside, a
detergent that dissolves TX-100insoluble domains
(Brown and Rose, 1992
). Because
UGT was still immunoprecipitated with GalT-1 from octylglucoside detergent
lysates (Figure 5A), we
conclude that GalT-1 and UGT associated via proteinprotein
interactions. The association between UGT and GalT-1 was probably not due to
intermolecular disulfide bridges, because we did not detect high molecular
weight complexes on nonreducing SDS-PAA gels (our unpublished data).
Interaction between UGT and
UDP-galactose:protein(
14)galactosyltransferase
The finding that UGT is retained in the ER by a proteinprotein
interaction with GalT-1 suggested that its normal localization in the Golgi
may be caused by interactions of UGT with Golgi galactosyltransferases. We
therefore studied whether UGT interacts with the ubiquitous
UDP-galactose:protein(
14)galactosyltransferase (PGalT) by testing
whether artificial retention of this Golgi transferase in the ER would induce
ER retention of UGT. The human PGalT was retained in the ER by exchanging its
cytoplasmic tail for the cytoplasmic tail of the human invariant chain p33
(p33-PGalT; Nilsson et al.,
1994
). Western blot analysis showed that p33-PGalT was expressed
as a 50-kDa protein and that it did not affect the expression level of UGT in
UGT-CHOlec8 cells (our unpublished data). In UGT-CHOlec8 cells transiently
transfected with the invariant chain p33 or with p33-PGalT, p33 and p33-PGalT
displayed an ER staining pattern (Figure 6,
A and C), which overlapped with the ER marker PDI (our unpublished
data), confirming previous findings
(Nilsson et al.,
1994
). In these cells, UGT remained fully localized to the Golgi
(Figure 6, B and D), whereas in
a parallel experiment transfection of cells with GalT-1 relocalized part of
the UGT to the ER (Figure 6, E and
F). In addition, UGT could not be coimmunoprecipitated with
p33-PGalT under conditions where coimmunoprecipitation with GalT-1 did occur
(Figure 5B). Thus, the
interaction of UGT with the ER enzyme GalT-1 is specific. It explains the
retention of UGT in the ER of GalT-1expressing cells and provides the
cell with a unique mechanism to supply GalT-1 with its UDP-galactose
substrate.
|
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Expression and Cellular Localization of UGTs
Consistent with a housekeeping role for UGT in glycoconjugate biosynthesis,
its mRNA is ubiquitously expressed. Two isoforms of the human UGT, UGT1 and
UGT2, derived from the same gene by alternative splicing, have been identified
(Ishida et al.,
1996
). Whether they differ in function or tissue expression and
whether other mammals also have more than one isoform, remains to be
determined. Studies on UDP-galactose import have generally used cells that did
not express GalT-1 and found UGT and its activity restricted to the Golgi
(Perez and Hirschberg, 1985
;
Ishida et al., 1996
,
1999
;
Miura et al., 1996
;
Tabuchi et al., 1997
;
Yoshioka et al.,
1997
; Segawa et al.,
1999
). UGT2 has a putative ER retrieval sequence identical to that
of hamster UGT. However, hamster UGT located to the Golgi of CHOlec8 cells
(Oelmann et al.,
2001
). The precise localization of UGT in the Golgi has not been
resolved yet. The mechanisms that determine the steady-state distribution of
Golgi transferases and nucleotide-sugar transporters are not fully understood
(Colley, 1997
;
Fullekrug and Nilsson, 1998
;
Munro, 1998
), but the physical
association between transferases in the Golgi apparatus can play a role
(Giraudo et al.,
2001
). The fact that many cells do not express GalT-1 allowed us
to study the role of GalT-1 in the intracellular localization of UGT.
UDP-Galactose Import in ER and Golgi
To distinguish between UDP-galactose import in the ER and Golgi, we
measured the synthesis of GalCer and that of GM3 as a measure of LacCer
synthesis. Although the GalT-1 yielding GalCer exclusively acts in the ER
lumen (Sprong et al.,
1998
), GalT-2 and CMP-sialic
acid:LacCer(
23)sialyltransferase are oriented toward the lumen
of the Golgi (Lannert et al.,
1994
,
1998
;
Burger et al., 1996
).
UDP-galactose import was measured indirectly, because the galactose
incorporation into lipids depended on the availability of the precursor
lipids, ceramide for GalCer and GlcCer for LacCer and GM3. Cells synthesizing
high levels of GalCer synthesized less GlcCer, because both use ceramide as a
substrate, which led to an underestimate of the subsequent synthesis of LacCer
and GM3 (Figure 1C). However,
the effect of the presence of UGT on galactose incorporation was sufficiently
large to allow the unequivocal conclusion that the presence of UGT was
required for the synthesis of GalCer
(Figure 1C). In vitro
experiments on cells transfected with GalT-1 had already shown that CHOlec8
cells, in addition to a defect in Golgi UDP-galactose import, have impaired
UDP-galactose import in the ER compared with CHO cells
(Sprong et al.,
1998
). Herein, we show that transfection with UGT restored the
UDP-galactose import in the ER (Table
1).
Interaction between UGT and Galactosyltransferases
In the present study, we have discovered that UGT oligomerizes with GalT-1
(Figure 5) and that this
results in the presence of a fraction of the UGT in the ER (Figures
3F,
4D, and
6F). Whether this is due to the
retention of the UGT by an ER-resident GalT-1 or to recycling through the
cis-Golgi and continuous retrieval is unclear at present. The nature
and stoichiometry of their interaction are unclear. No disulfide bridges
between the two proteins were found, and although both proteins have a leucine
zipper, current data indicate that the leucine zipper of UGT is oriented to
the cytosol, whereas the leucine zipper of GalT-1 is in the ER lumen. One
striking difference between GalT-1 and all other galactosyltransferases is
that GalT-1 is a type I membrane protein. The proteins may interact via their
transmembrane domains, or indirectly, via a third protein. GalT-1 is a member
of the large family of the glucuronosyltransferases
(Schulte and Stoffel, 1993
;
Stahl et al., 1994
).
A UDP-glucuronic acid transporter has been identified and located to the ER
(Muraoka et al.,
2001
). It has no recognizable ER retrieval sequence. In line with
our present findings, it may require binding to an ER transferase for
retention.
In cells expressing GalT-1, the shift of UGT to the ER was partial,
indicating that not all UGT associated with GalT-1. It will be interesting to
see whether conditions can be found where all of the UGT is retained in the
ER, and, if so, how this affects protein galactosylation. Now, what would be
the mechanism that normally drives UGT to the Golgi? UGT may contain an
intrinsic Golgi retention signal or it may interact with Golgi proteins. We
detected no interaction between UGT and PGalT tagged with p33, but we cannot
exclude oligomerization of UGT with endogenous PGalT in the Golgi. Kin
recognition was originally proposed as a basis for the localization of the
N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-1 and mannosidase II to the
medial-Golgi (Nilsson et al.,
1994
), and complex formation between different membrane proteins
may be one general principle of cis- and medial-Golgi localization
(Jungmann and Munro, 1998
). In
contrast, the late Golgi glycosyltransferases PGalT and
1,2-fucosyltransferase were found to occur as monomers and dimers,
respectively (Opat et al.,
2000
). Finally, a physical association has been established
between the Golgi glycolipid N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and
the next galactosyltransferase in the pathway
(Giraudo et al.,
2001
), whereas the N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase can
also be in a complex with the sialyltransferase II and its substrate GM3
(Bieberich et al.,
2002
), and it has been proposed that these associations improve
the efficiency of synthesis by a channeling of substrates.
To our knowledge, we describe for the first time an association between a nucleotide-sugar transporter and one of its transferases. Future work will be required to fully explore the molecular details of this novel interaction. It will be interesting to see what determines the Golgi localization of UGT, and whether UGTs interact with PGalT or one of the other galactosyltransferases in the Golgi complex.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| Footnotes |
|---|
14)galactosyltransferase; GlcCer,
glucosylceramide; GM3, sialyllactosylceramide; HA, hemagglutinin epitope;
LacCer, lactosylceramide; PDI, protein-disulfide isomerase; p33-PGalT,
UDP-galactose:protein(
14)galactosyltransferase with the
cytoplasmic domain of invariant chain p33; PNS, postnuclear supernatant; UGT,
UDP-galactose transporter. Article published online ahead of print. Mol. Biol. Cell 10.1091/mbc.E03-03-0130. Article and publication date are available at www.molbiolcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1091/mbc.E03-03-0130.
# Corresponding author. E-mail address: g.vanmeer{at}chem.uu.nl.
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