Mucin-type O-glycosylation occurs on many proteins that transit the Golgi apparatus. These glycans impact structure and function of many proteins and have important roles in cellular biosynthetic processes, signaling and differentiation. Although recent technological advances have enhanced our ability to profile glycosylation of glycoproteins, limitations in the understanding of the biosynthesis of these glycan structures remain. Some of these limitations stem from the difficulty to track the biosynthetic process of mucin-type O-glycosylation, especially when glycans occur in dense clusters in repeat regions of proteins, such as the mucins or immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1). Here, we describe a series of nano-liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry (MS) analyses that demonstrate the range of glycosyltransferase enzymatic activities involved in the biosynthesis of clustered O-glycans on IgA1. By utilizing nano-LC-MS relative quantitation of in vitro reaction products, our results provide unique insights into the biosynthesis of clustered IgA1 O-glycans. We have developed a workflow to determine glycoform-specific apparent rates of a human UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltrasnfersase (GalNAc-T EC 2.4.1.41) and demonstrated how pre-existing glycans affect subsequent activity of glycosyltransferases, such as core 1 galactosyltransferase and α2,3- and α2,6-specific sialyltransferases, in successive additions in the biosynthesis of clustered O-glycans. In the context of IgA1, these results have potential to provide insight into the molecular mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune renal disease involving aberrant IgA1 O-glycosylation. In a broader sense, these methods and workflows are applicable to the studies of the concerted and competing functions of other glycosyltransferases that initiate and extend mucin-type core 1 clustered O-glycosylation.

• Klíčová slova
• IgA1 hinge region, polypeptide GalNAc-transferase, LC–MS, clustered glycosylation, mucin-type glycosylation,
• MeSH
• glykosylace MeSH
• glykosyltransferasy metabolismus   MeSH
• imunoglobulin A metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• polysacharidy analýza   biosyntéza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• glykosyltransferasy MeSH
• imunoglobulin A MeSH
• polysacharidy MeSH

GalNAc-type O-glycans are often added to proteins post-translationally in a clustered manner in repeat regions of proteins, such as mucins and IgA1. Observed IgA1 glycosylation patterns show that glycans occur at similar sites with similar structures. It is not clear how the sites and number of glycans added to IgA1, or other proteins, can follow a conservative process. GalNAc-transferases initiate GalNAc-type glycosylation. In IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune disease, the sites and O-glycan structures of IgA1 hinge-region are altered, giving rise to a glycan autoantigen. To better understand how GalNAc-transferases determine sites and densities of clustered O-glycans, we used IgA1 hinge-region (HR) segment as a probe. Using LC-MS, we demonstrated a semi-ordered process of glycosylation by GalNAc-T2 towards the IgA1 HR. The catalytic domain was responsible for selection of four initial sites based on amino-acid sequence recognition. Both catalytic and lectin domains were involved in multiple second site-selections, each dependent on initial site-selection. Our data demonstrated that multiple start-sites and follow-up pathways were key to increasing the number of glycans added. The lectin domain predominately enhanced IgA1 HR glycan density by increasing synthesis pathway exploration by GalNAc-T2. Our data indicated a link between site-specific glycan addition and clustered glycan density that defines a mechanism of how conserved clustered O-glycosylation patterns and glycoform populations of IgA1 can be controlled by GalNAc-T2. Together, these findings characterized a correlation between glycosylation pathway diversity and glycosylation density, revealing mechanisms by which a single GalNAc-T isozyme can limit and define glycan heterogeneity in a disease-relevant context.

• Klíčová slova
• O-glycosylation, GalNAc-transferase, IgA1 hinge region, clustered glycosylation, restricted glycan heterogeneity,
• MeSH
• biokatalýza MeSH
• glykosylace MeSH
• imunoglobulin A metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasy metabolismus   MeSH
• polypeptid-N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasa MeSH
• polysacharidy biosyntéza   chemie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• imunoglobulin A MeSH
• N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasy MeSH
• polysacharidy MeSH

BACKGROUND: Galactose-deficient O-glycans in the hinge region (HR) of immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) play a key role in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). O-Glycans of circulatory IgA1 consist of N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) with a β1,3-linked galactose; both sugars may be sialylated. In patients with IgAN, α2,6-sialylated GalNAc is a frequent form of the galactose-deficient O-glycans. Prior analyses of IgA1-producing cells had indicated that α2,6-sialyltransferase II (ST6GalNAc-II) is likely responsible for sialylation of GalNAc of galactose-deficient IgA1, but direct evidence is missing. METHODS: We produced a secreted variant of recombinant human ST6GalNAc-II and an IgA1 fragment comprised of Cα1-HR-Cα2. This IgA1 fragment and a synthetic HR peptide with enzymatically attached GalNAc residues served as acceptors. ST6GalNAc-II activity was assessed in vitro and the attachment of sialic acid to these acceptors was detected by lectin blot and mass spectrometry. RESULTS: ST6GalNAc-II was active with both acceptors. High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis revealed that up to three sialic acid residues were added to the GalNAc residues of the HR glycopeptide. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide direct evidence that ST6GalNAc-II can sialylate GalNAc of galactose-deficient IgA1. As serum levels of galactose-deficient IgA1 with sialylated glycoforms are increased in IgAN patients, our data explain the corresponding part of the biosynthetic pathway.

• Klíčová slova
• IgA nephropathy, aberrant O-glycosylation, galactose-deficient IgA1, immunoglobulin A1, α2,6 sialyltransferase ST6GalNAc-II,
• MeSH
• autoantigeny imunologie   MeSH
• galaktosa nedostatek   MeSH
• glykosylace MeSH
• hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• IgA nefropatie enzymologie   imunologie   patologie   MeSH
• imunoglobulin A metabolismus   MeSH
• kultivované buňky MeSH
• kyselina N-acetylneuraminová metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny imunologie   metabolismus   MeSH
• sialyltransferasy metabolismus   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• autoantigeny MeSH
• galactosyl-1-3-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-specific 2,6-sialyltransferase MeSH Prohlížeč
• galaktosa MeSH
• imunoglobulin A MeSH
• kyselina N-acetylneuraminová MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH
• sialyltransferasy MeSH

Patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) have elevated circulating levels of IgA1 with some O-glycans consisting of galactose (Gal)-deficient N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) with or without N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc). We have analyzed O-glycosylation heterogeneity of naturally asialo-IgA1 (Ale) myeloma protein that mimics Gal-deficient IgA1 (Gd-IgA1) of patients with IgAN, except that IgA1 O-glycans of IgAN patients are frequently sialylated. Specifically, serum IgA1 of healthy controls has more α2,3-sialylated O-glycans (NeuAc attached to Gal) than α2,6-sialylated O-glycans (NeuAc attached to GalNAc). As IgA1-producing cells from IgAN patients have an increased activity of α2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc), we hypothesize that such activity may promote premature sialylation of GalNAc and, thus, production of Gd-IgA1, as sialylation of GalNAc prevents subsequent Gal attachment. Distribution of NeuAc in IgA1 O-glycans may play an important role in the pathogenesis of IgAN. To better understand biological functions of NeuAc in IgA1, we established protocols for enzymatic sialylation leading to α2,3- or α2,6-sialylation of IgA1 O-glycans. Sialylation of Gal-deficient asialo-IgA1 (Ale) myeloma protein by an ST6GalNAc enzyme generated sialylated IgA1 that mimics the Gal-deficient IgA1 glycoforms in patients with IgAN, characterized by α2,6-sialylated Gal-deficient GalNAc. In contrast, sialylation of the same myeloma protein by an α2,3-sialyltransferase yielded IgA1 typical for healthy controls, characterized by α2,3-sialylated Gal. The GalNAc-specific lectin from Helix aspersa (HAA) is used to measure levels of Gd-IgA1. We assessed HAA binding to IgA1 sialylated at Gal or GalNAc. As expected, α2,6-sialylation of IgA1 markedly decreased reactivity with HAA. Notably, α2,3-sialylation also decreased reactivity with HAA. Neuraminidase treatment recovered the original HAA reactivity in both instances. These results suggest that binding of a GalNAc-specific lectin is modulated by sialylation of GalNAc as well as Gal in the clustered IgA1 O-glycans. Thus, enzymatic sialylation offers a useful model to test the role of NeuAc in reactivities of the clustered O-glycans with lectins.

• MeSH
• glykosyltransferasy metabolismus   MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• Helix (hlemýždi) metabolismus   MeSH
• IgA nefropatie metabolismus   MeSH
• imunoglobulin A chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• kyseliny sialové analýza   metabolismus   MeSH
• lektiny metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• polysacharidy chemie   metabolismus   MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• sacharidové sekvence MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• Názvy látek
• glykosyltransferasy MeSH
• imunoglobulin A MeSH
• kyseliny sialové MeSH
• lektiny MeSH
• polysacharidy MeSH
• rekombinantní proteiny MeSH

The human UDP-N-acetyl-α-d-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase 2 (GalNAc-T2) is one of the key enzymes that initiate synthesis of hinge-region O-linked glycans of human immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1). We designed secreted soluble form of human GalNAc-T2 as a fusion protein containing mouse immunoglobulin light chain kappa secretory signal and expressed it using baculovirus and mammalian expression vectors. The recombinant protein was secreted by insect cells Sf9 and human HEK 293T cells in the culture medium. The protein was purified from the media using affinity Ni-NTA chromatography followed by stabilization of purified protein in 50mM Tris-HCl buffer at pH 7.4. Although the purity of recombinant GalNAc-T2 was comparable in both expression systems, the yield was higher in Sf9 insect expression system (2.5mg of GalNAc-T2 protein per 1L culture medium). The purified soluble recombinant GalNAc-T2 had an estimated molecular mass of 65.8kDa and its amino-acid sequence was confirmed by mass-spectrometric analysis. The enzymatic activity of Sf9-produced recombinant GalNAc-T2 was determined by the quantification of enzyme-mediated attachment of GalNAc to synthetic IgA1 hinge-region peptide as the acceptor and UDP-GalNAc as the donor. In conclusion, murine immunoglobulin kappa secretory signal was used for production of secreted enzymatically active GalNAc-T2 in insect baculovirus expression system.

• MeSH
• aktivace enzymů MeSH
• Baculoviridae genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• genetické vektory genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• HEK293 buňky MeSH
• hmyz genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• imunoglobulin A genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• imunoglobuliny - kappa-řetězce chemie   genetika   MeSH
• klonování DNA MeSH
• kultivační média metabolismus   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• myši MeSH
• N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasy biosyntéza   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• plazmidy genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• polypeptid-N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasa MeSH
• proteiny - lokalizační signály MeSH
• rekombinantní fúzní proteiny biosyntéza   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• rozpustnost MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• stabilita proteinů MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie MeSH
• transfekce MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• myši MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
• srovnávací studie MeSH
• Názvy látek
• imunoglobulin A MeSH
• imunoglobuliny - kappa-řetězce MeSH
• kultivační média MeSH
• N-acetylgalaktosaminyltransferasy MeSH
• proteiny - lokalizační signály MeSH
• rekombinantní fúzní proteiny MeSH