title: Expression of the three alternative forms of the sphingolipid activator protein precursor in baby hamster kidney cells and functional assays in a cell culture system.
abstract: Sphingolipid activator proteins (SAPs) are non-enzymatic glycoproteins required for lysosomal degradation of various sphingolipids with short oligosaccharide chains by their respective exohydrolases. Four of these (SAP-A to SAP-D or saposins A to D) are derived from a common precursor by proteolytic processing. Alternative splicing of the SAP-precursor gene results in insertion of additional 6 or 9 bases of exon 8' or 8, respectively, into the SAP-B coding region of the transcribed mRNAs. To examine the features of the three different SAP-precursor proteins (prosaposins), the respective cDNAs were stably expressed in baby hamster kidney cells. Pulse-chase experiments with transfected cells and endocytosis studies on human fibroblasts showed that synthesis, transport, and maturation of all SAP-precursor led to formation of the four mature SAPs (SAP-A to SAP-D). In order to determine the biological function of the three different SAP-B isoforms, SAP-precursor-deficient human fibroblasts were loaded with recombinant SAP-precursor proteins with or without 2- and 3-amino acid insertions, respectively, purified from the medium of the baby hamster kidney cells. They were found to stimulate at nanomolar concentrations the turnover of biosynthetically labeled ceramide, glucosylceramide, and lactosylceramide. Since the physiological function of SAP-B is to stimulate the degradation of sulfatide by arylsulfatase A (EC 3.1.6.1) and globotriaosylceramide by beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) loading studies with the respective exogenously labeled lipids on SAP-precursor-deficient fibroblasts were performed. Addition of different purified SAP-precursors to the medium of the lipid-loaded fibroblasts showed positive stimulation of the lipid degradation by all three SAP-B isoforms derived from the SAP-precursors. These findings establish that all three forms of the SAP-B can function as sulfatide/globotriaosylceramide activator.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Organische Chemie und Biochemie, Universität Bonn, D-53121 Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henseler
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Glombitza
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suziki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sandhoff
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006224:Cricetinae; D004705:Endocytosis; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011233:Precipitin Tests; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000378:metabolism*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D049231:Saposins; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection; D014281:Trihexosylceramides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; C483345:PSAP protein, human; D011498:Protein Precursors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D049231:Saposins; D013107:Sphingolipids; D014281:Trihexosylceramides; C018549:globotriaosylceramide