Solubilization of mannosyltransferase activities for the biosynthesis of mammary glycoproteins. Elongation of tetrasaccharide-lipid to heptasaccharide-lipid by a solubilized enzyme preparation.

The microsomal preparation from the lactating bovine mammary tissue was solubilized by treatment with nonionic detergent, NP-40, at a protein/detergent ratio of 1.5:1 and a detergent concentration of 0.5%. Following centrifugation at 147000 X g for 120 min, the supernatant fraction was incubated with labeled sugar nucleotides, GDP-Man and UDP-GlcNAc. It was found to synthesize a series of lipid-linked saccharides up to (Man)5-(GlcNAc)2. The solubilized glycosyltransferases retained up to about 60% of the activity after two weeks of storage at 4 degrees C. The biosynthesis of glycolipids was stimulated by a mixture of lipids obtained by extracting the mammary microsomes with CHCl3/CH3OH (2:1). A labeled lipid-linked tetrasaccharide of the structure Man alpha 1----3 Man beta----GlcNAc beta----GlcNAc was isolated by labeling baby hamster kidney cells with [2-3H]mannose under conditions of glucose starvation followed by extraction of the cells with CHCl3/CH3OH (2:1) and separation of the lipids by high-performance liquid chromatography. When this lipid-linked tetrasaccharide was incubated with the solubilized bovine mammary microsomes and GDP-Man, it was elongated to a lipid-linked heptasaccharide having the structure Man alpha 1----2Man alpha 1----2Man alpha 1----3(Man alpha 1----6)Man beta----GlcNAc beta----GlcNAc. The kinetics of the elongation reaction also revealed the intermediary formation of smaller amounts of lipid-linked pentasaccharide and hexasaccharide. The elongation reaction did not require any divalent metal ion and had a broad pH optimum between 6.8 and 7.6. The lack of inhibition of the elongation reaction by EDTA or amphomycin support earlier studies that GDP-Man rather than mannosylphosphoryldolichol, is the direct donor of mannosyl residues for the biosynthesis of glycolipids up to (Man)5(GlcNAc)2. Mannosylphosphorylretinol was ineffective as mannosyl donor for the elongation reaction.