The GDP-fucose:N-acetylglucosaminide 3-alpha-L-fucosyltransferases of LEC11 and LEC12 Chinese hamster ovary mutants exhibit novel specificities for glycolipid substrates.

Previous studies have shown that the GDP-fucose:N-acetylglucosaminide 3-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase (alpha (1,3) fucosyltransferase (Fuc-T)) activities expressed by the Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants LEC11 (Fuc-TI) and LEC12 (Fuc-TII) are different enzymes and indicated that Fuc-TI might act on sialylated lactosamine sequences (Campbell, C., and Stanley, P. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 11208-11214). In this paper we show that CSLEX-1, a monoclonal antibody specific for NeuNac alpha (2,3)Gal beta (1,4)(Fuc alpha (1,3))GlcNAc beta 1 sequences, bound to LEC11 cells but not to LEC12 cells. Direct evidence that Fuc-TI could act on sialylated substrates was sought with a series of glycolipid acceptors. Optimal assay conditions in crude cell extracts were determined with nLc4, a glycolipid which accepted fucose with both Fuc-TI and Fuc-TII to generate the Lex antigenic determinant. The two enzymes differed in their detergent sensitivities, pH optima, Mn2+ requirements, and apparent Km values for nLc4. When sialylated glycolipids were examined as substrates, Fuc-TI added fucose to IV3NeuNAcnLc4 but not to IV6NeuNAcnLc4, whereas Fuc-TII was unable to utilize either glycolipid as a substrate. Further studies showed that Fuc-TI and Fuc-TII possess novel specificities for glycolipids containing two lactosamine sequences as potential fucose acceptors. Fuc-TI exhibited good activities with VI3NeuNAcnLc6 and VI6NeuNAcnLc6 whereas Fuc-TII had very low activity with both substrates. Glycosidase digestions of the labeled products showed that Fuc-TI added fucose primarily to the internal N-acetylglucosamine of both glycolipids. The same preference for the internal N-acetylglucosamine was shown by Fuc-TI when nLc6 was the acceptor. In contrast, Fuc-TII preferred to transfer fucose to the external acceptor site of nLc6, consistent with the low activities of Fuc-TII with sialylated nLc6 derivatives. Thus the two enzymes preferentially add fucose to different N-acetylglucosamines in the same substrate, nLc6. This indicates that the biosynthetic pathway for fucosylation of polylactosamine sequences in glycolipids and glycoproteins will vary depending upon the particular alpha (1,3)fucosyltransferase present.