title: Control of O-glycan synthesis: specificity and inhibition of O-glycan core 1 UDP-galactose:N-acetylgalactosamine-alpha-R beta 3-galactosyltransferase from rat liver.
abstract: The specificity of glycosyltransferases is a major control factor in the biosynthesis of O-glycans. The enzyme that synthesizes O-glycan core 1, i.e., UDP-galactose:N-acetylgalactosamine-alpha-R beta 3-galactosyltransferase (beta 3-Gal-T; EC 2.4.1.122), was partially purified from rat liver. The enzyme preparation, free of pyrophosphatases, beta 4-galactosyltransferase, beta-galactosidase, and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I, was used to study the specificity and inhibition of the beta 3-Gal-T. beta 3-Gal-T activity is sensitive to changes in the R-group of the GalNAc alpha-R acceptor substrate and is stimulated when the R-group is a peptide or an aromatic group. Derivatives of GalNAc alpha-benzyl were synthesized and tested as potential substrates and inhibitors. Removal or substitution of the 3-hydroxyl or removal of the 4-hydroxyl of GalNAc abolished beta 3-Gal-T activity. Compounds with modifications of the 3- or 4-hydroxyl of GalNAc alpha-benzyl did not show significant inhibition. Removal or substitution of the 6-hydroxyl of GalNAc reduced activity slightly and these derivatives acted as competitive substrates. derivatives with epoxide groups attached to the 6-position of GalNAc acted as substrates and not as inhibitors, with the exception of the photosensitive 6-O-(4,4-azo)pentyl-GalNAc alpha-benzyl, which inhibited Gal incorporation into GalNAc alpha-benzyl. The results indicate that the enzyme does not require the 6-hydroxyl of GalNAc, but needs the 3- and the axial 4-hydroxyl as essential requirements for binding and activity. In the usual biochemical O-glycan pathway, core 2 (GlcNAc beta 6[Gal beta 3] GalNAc alpha-) is formed from core 1 (Gal beta 3GalNAc-R). We have now demonstrated an alternate pathway that may be of importance in human tissues.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brockhausen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pollex-Krüger
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rutz
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Matta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D005700:Galactosyltransferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D013379:Substrate Specificity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; D016695:Glycosyltransferases; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; C076385:glycoprotein-N-acetylgalactosamine 3-beta-galactosyltransferase