Neutral Alpha-glucosidase Research Articles

Modulation of enzymatic activities during spontaneous and induced differentiation in a human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line CAPAN-1

Different enzymatic activities were studied in the human pancreatic cancer cell line CAPAN-1 in order to analyze their relation to differentiation. Alkaline phosphatase (Alk Ph), acid phosphatase, aminopeptidase, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, acid and neutral alpha-glucosidases, and acid beta-galactosidase were present. Especially alkaline phosphatase, which we have found to be of the placental type isoenzyme, is being highly expressed. Spontaneous cell differentiation at confluence as well as differentiating agents: sodium butyrate and DMSO, modulated the levels of three enzymes: Alk. Ph., aminopeptidase, and acid alpha-glucosidase. The exposure of the cells to the differentiating agents amplified the modulations occurring during the spontaneous differentiation. Aminopeptidase and acid alpha-glucosidase were found to be induced by differentiation. Alk Ph specific activity was significantly increased by the spontaneous and the butyrate-induced differentiations; whereas DMSO exerted an opposite effect, probably related to its biphasic action on cell proliferation.

An investigation of the possible influence of neutral alpha-glucosidases on the clinical heterogeneity of glycogenosis type II.

The lysosomal storage disorder glycogenosis type II, caused by a deficiency of lysosomal alpha-glucosidase, is very heterogeneous in its clinical presentation. It has been suggested that this heterogeneity may be due to differential expression of neutral alpha-glucosidases. We have therefore analysed the activity of the major neutral alpha-glucosidases in cultured fibroblasts or muscle cells from 26 patients with glycogenosis type II. The results indicate that there is no correlation between the expression of neutral alpha-glucosidase isoenzymes and the clinical phenotype of this disease.

Prospect for enzyme therapy in glycogenosis II variants: a study on cultured muscle cells.

Impairment of skeletal muscle function is the common feature of distinct clinical forms of glycogenosis type II. In the present study, muscle cultures from different patients were used to investigate the cause of clinical heterogeneity and the feasibility of enzyme replacement therapy. The activity of acid alpha-glucosidase appears to be the primary factor in determining the extent of lysosomal glycogen storage in muscle, and thereby the clinical severity of the disease. Neutral alpha-glucosidases do not seem influential. Correction of the enzymatic defect was achieved in skeletal muscle cultures from patients by administration of a "high-uptake" form of acid alpha-glucosidase, purified from human urine. The enzyme reaches the lysosomes, including the glycogen storage vacuoles, and the lysosomal glycogen content is reduced to control level. In normal muscle cells 20% of the total cellular glycogen pool is segregated in lysosomal compartments. This percentage is higher than in fibroblasts, which may partly explain why muscles are more prone to store glycogen. The relevance of this study for enzyme therapy is discussed.

Alpha-Glucosidase isoenzymes in normal and acid maltase-deficient human skeletal muscles.

One acid alpha-glucosidase and two neutral alpha-glucosidases were separated from human skeletal muscle by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The appearance of the two human neutral alpha-glucosidase isoenzymes was found to be age dependent. We called them "fetal" and "adult" neutral alpha-glucosidases. The biochemical properties of the fetal and adult types of neutral alpha-glucosidases appeared to be similar to those previously reported for neutral alpha-glucosidases AB and C, respectively. The neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in the column eluate of the infantile acid maltase deficiency (AMD; 5-month-old) muscle was completely of the adult type, whereas 18% of the total neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in age-matched control muscle was of the fetal type. In contrast, the eluate of the late-onset AMD (32-year-old) muscle contained both the adult and fetal neutral alpha-glucosidases, 68 and 32%, respectively.

Properties of lysosomal β-hexosaminidase accumulated in Niemann-Pick mouse liver

Various lysosomal acid hydrolases from tissues of Niemann-Pick mice, a mutant strain of C57BL/KsJ mice (spm/spm), were examined and compared to those from control mice. Activities of beta-hexosaminidase, beta-galactosidase, acid phosphatase, and cathepsin L were elevated in the liver and spleen of the affected mice, whereas no significant changes in beta-glucosidase and acid alpha-glucosidase were observed. Alpha-Mannosidase and neutral alpha-glucosidase activities were rather decreased in the affected mouse liver. The level of beta-hexosaminidase in the Niemann-Pick mice was raised sixfold in the liver and two- to threefold in the spleen and brain, whereas its total activity was decreased in the kidney. Sixty to ninety percent of total activity of lysosomal hydrolases was solubilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 in control mice, but most of the beta-hexosaminidase activity of the Niemann-Pick mice remained associated with the membrane fraction of liver lysosomes. The beta-hexosaminidase of the Niemann-Pick mice was appreciably stable when heated at 55 degrees C, while hydrolases of the affected mice and all of the enzymes tested in control mice were heat labile. The relative content of two beta-hexosaminidase fractions separated by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography was 8% for beta-hexosaminidase I and 92% for beta-hexosaminidase II in the case of the control mouse liver. The isozyme pattern of hexosaminidases in Niemann-Pick mice was similar to that of control enzymes. However, the beta-hexosaminidase II accumulated in Niemann-Pick mouse liver was different from that of the control in optimum pH, Km values and thermostability.

Hydrolase activities increase in the rat aorta with growth and aging but not in liver and kidney.

We examined specific activities (based on DNA) of six glycosidases and cathepsin C in aorta, kidney, and liver from male rats of 2, 6, 10, and 14 months of age. The premise was that assessing cellular catabolism of arterial and nonvascular tissues over age might more fully clarify the impact of age (and growth) alone upon vascular wall metabolism. All aortic glycosidases increased significantly (P less than 0.05) over the holding period as follows: neutral alpha-glucosidase, up 93%; beta-galactosidase, up 102%; N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, up 119%; alpha-mannosidase, up 77%; beta-glucuronidase, up 65%; acid alpha-glucosidase, up 95%. Cathepsin C specific activity was unchanged as was aortic DNA content; total protein content increased 136%. In the kidney, all glycosidase specific activities declined over age with decreases ranging 39-55%; cathepsin C was unchanged. In the liver, neutral alpha-glucosidase increased 12%, acid alpha-glucosidase was unchanged, and the four remaining glycosidases decreased an average of 5-35% by 14 months of age. Liver cathepsin C decreased 44% over this period. Thus, enhancement of hydrolase baseline activities prevails during growth and aging in rat aortic tissue whereas hydrolases of kidney and liver tissues generally decline.

Subcellular pathology of human neurodegenerative disorders: Alzheimer-type dementia and Huntington's disease.

Activities of enzyme markers of subcellular organelles have been measured in brain tissue from subjects with Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD) and Huntington's disease (HD). Significant increases in the activity of the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase were observed in both ATD temporal cortex and HD putamen. It is suggested that beta-glucuronidase activity may be a useful biochemical indicator of cellular damage in the CNS. A significant reduction in neutral alpha-glucosidase activity was observed in ATD temporal cortex and HD putamen. This change may reflect an alteration in glycoconjugate processing and may relate to the susceptibility of neurones to the degenerative processes of ATD and HD.

Developmental study of alpha-glucosidases in Japanese quails with acid maltase deficiency.

In Japanese quails with late-onset acid maltase deficiency (AMD), the activity of acid alpha-glucosidase was severely reduced to approximately 16% of the normal level from an embryonic age. The kinetic characteristics and inhibition by Zn indicated that the residual activity was responsible for the intrinsic activity of acid alpha-glucosidase. However, in affected embryos, the glycogen content and other lysosomal enzyme activities were normal, despite the low acid alpha-glucosidase activity. In a separate study, we found the existence of two age-dependent neutral alpha-glucosidases--"embryonic" and "adult" alpha-glucosidases. In affected quails, the transition from the embryonic neutral alpha-glucosidase to the adult type was not influenced by the disease. The activity toward maltose and glycogen of the embryonic neutral alpha-glucosidase may explain the normal glycogen content in the affected embryos.

Reconstitution of brush border membrane proteins in phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Biochemical and functional characterization.

Horse kidney brush border membrane proteins were incorporated into phosphatidylcholine vesicles. Structural analysis of proteoliposomes prepared with various lipid:protein ratios showed that: (a) only a few of the proteins present in the crude brush border extract are integrated, (b) all known membrane hydrolases are integrated, and (c) these proteoliposomes are homogeneous vesicles. Papain solubilization of brush border membrane hydrolases, i.e. aminopeptidase M, neutral alpha-glucosidase, gamma-glutamyltransferase and alkaline phosphatase, performed in parallel on native membrane vesicles and proteoliposomes, revealed similar kinetics. Analysis of membrane vesicles and proteoliposomes on sucrose density gradients either without any treatment, or after papain treatment showed that: (a) in proteoliposomes, neutral alpha-glucosidase is associated with radiolabelled phosphatidylcholine, and (b) papain-treated vesicles and proteoliposomes released enzyme activity in the same way. These results suggest that the integration mechanism of brush border membrane proteins may be similar in proteoliposomes and native membrane vesicles. Transport experiments under equilibrium exchange conditions showed that the uptake properties of proteoliposomes are similar to those of brush border membrane vesicles.

Diagnostic Potential of Urinary Enzymes and β2‐Microglobulin in Acute Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary excretions of beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2M), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), alanine aminopeptidase, beta-glucuronidase, acid and neutral alpha-glucosidase as indicators of proximal tubular dysfunction were measured in patients with acute upper and lower urinary tract infection (UTI) and fever of non-renal origin. The sensitivity of beta 2M was 67% and of NAG 49% as assessed in more than 100 episodes of acute pyelonephritis. Combined use of beta 2M and NAG increased the sensitivity to 75%. The degree of beta 2-microglobulinuria and enzymuria was comparable in patients with acute pyelonephritis and fever due to non-renal infections. The excretion of beta 2M and the various enzymes was too variable and unpredictable in individual cases to be useful as diagnostic indicator. In localizing an acute UTI, tests for proximal tubular dysfunction seem to be of no more clinical value than properly measured body temperature.

Isolation and characterization of three alpha-glucosidases from the Japanese quail.

We have defined one type of acid alpha-glucosidase and two types of neutral alpha-glucosidases from quail skeletal muscle on the basis of differences in the elution patterns on a DEAE-cellulose column. The appearance of the two neutral alpha-glucosidase isoenzymes was age-dependent. A decrease in acid alpha-glucosidase activity was demonstrated in Japanese quails with glycogenosis type II. The characteristics of these three alpha-glucosidase isoenzymes are described.

Transient expression of human neutral alpha-glucosidase AB (glucosidase II) in enzyme-deficient mouse lymphoma cells.

To define new methods for gene isolation exploiting mutant mammalian cells we transformed a mutant mouse cell line deficient in glucosidase II with total human genomic DNA and detected transient expression of the human glucosidase II gene. Maximum gene expression was detected 48 h after addition of DNA as a 2.5-fold increase in neutral alpha-glucosidase activity (2.47 +/- 0.15, n = 4). When mutant mouse DNA was used for transformation, no increase in enzyme activity was seen. The increased enzyme activity was due to expression of the human gene product. Thus, by rocket immunoelectrophoresis, cells transformed with human DNA yielded a "rocket" which reacted with antibody to human but not to mouse glucosidase II and which hydrolyzed substrate in situ. Specific DNA sequences were required for expression of the enzyme activity, since digestion of DNA with EcoRI and SstI rendered the DNA ineffective for eliciting expression of the enzyme, while digestion of DNA with BamHI and XhoI did not affect the increase. Transfection with intact phage from a human genomic DNA library also resulted in transient expression of the human gene. These results demonstrate the feasibility of detecting, by enzymatic assay, transient expression of a human gene for an intracellular enzyme following DNA-mediated transformation both with total human DNA and with intact phage from a human recombinant library. This system could be used as an assay for isolation of a gene from a genomic library by sibling selection.

Acid and neutral alpha-glucosidase in the reproductive organs and seminal plasma of the bull.

A synthetic substrate (p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside) was used to measure the acid and neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in bull seminal plasma, spermatozoa and in homogenates of bull reproductive organs. Marked differences were observed in the activities of these enzymes in the various tissues studied. Epididymis and particularly its caput region contained the highest specific activity of acid alpha-glucosidase. The activity of neutral alpha-glucosidase was highest in testis and in different parts of the epididymis. Seminal plasma, spermatozoa and seminal vesicle secretion contained only the acid enzyme activity. After fractionation with anion exchange chromatography in HPLC (Mono Q) and chromatofocussing, acid alpha-glucosidase activity of seminal plasma was recovered in two fractions with different pI values. The corresponding activities were found in the secretion of seminal vesicles, which thus form the major secretory source of seminal plasma acid alpha-glucosidase. In the fractionation with gel filtration on Sepharose 6B, the acid alpha-glucosidase had a smaller molecular weight than did the neutral enzyme. In anion exchange chromatography and chromatofocussing the testicular and epididymal homogenates each contained two acid and two neutral isoenzymes. In both fractionations the elution pattern of acid alpha-glucosidase was clearly different from that of the enzymes in seminal plasma. The pH optimum of acid alpha-glucosidase ranged from 3.75 to 4.5 and that of the neutral enzyme from 6.5 to 7.0. The neutral activity was more sensitive to many divalent metal ions and differences were also observed in the response of the enzymes to different concentrations of turanose and KCl.

Identity of neutral alpha-glucosidase AB and the glycoprotein processing enzyme glucosidase II. Biochemical and genetic studies.

We have previously partially purified, characterized, and chromosomally mapped a human isozyme of alpha-glucosidase which is active at neutral pH. This isozyme appears as a doublet of enzyme activity on native gel electrophoresis and was termed neutral alpha-glucosidase AB. We now report genetic and biochemical evidence that neutral alpha-glucosidase AB is synonymous with the glycoprotein processing enzyme glucosidase II. We have found that a mutant mouse lymphoma line which is deficient in glucosidase II is also deficient in neutral alpha-glucosidase AB, as defined electrophoretically and quantitatively (less than 0.5% of parental). In contrast, both mutant and parental cell lines exhibited several lysosomal hydrolases which are processed by glucosidase II. We have also further purified the human neutral alpha-glucosidase A component of neutral alpha-glucosidase AB 740-fold from placenta in order to compare its biochemical properties with those described for rat liver and pig kidney glucosidase II. Both glucosidase II and neutral alpha-glucosidase AB are high-molecular mass (greater than 200,000 dalton) anionic glycoproteins which bind to concanavalin A, have a broad pH optima (5.5-8.5), and have a similar Km for maltose (4.8 versus 2.1 mM) and the artificial substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (35 versus 19 microM). Similar to human neutral alpha-glucosidase AB, purified rat glucosidase II migrates as a doublet of enzyme activity on native gel electrophoresis. Although rat glucosidase II has been reported to have a subunit size of 67 kDa, pig glucosidase II has been found to have a subunit size of 100 kDa, like the 98-kDa major protein in purified human neutral alpha-glucosidase A. Although we have not demonstrated that neutral alpha-glucosidase AB is microsomal nor that it hydrolyzes the natural substrate of glucosidase II, we believe that the genetic evidence is compelling for and the biochemical data consistent with the hypothesis that neutral alpha-glucosidase AB and glucosidase II are synonymous. These and previous results would localize glucosidase II to the long arm of human chromosome II.

Bovine glycogenosis type II. Biochemical and morphological characteristics of skeletal muscle in culture.

The biochemical and morphological properties of cultured skeletal muscle from calves born into a herd of cattle, which are heterozygous for glycogenosis type II, were studied over 17 days. Muscle was cultured by a modification of the explant technique in which the mononucleated cells that grew from the explants were subcultured. Skeletal muscle from animals up to 15 months of age grew in culture to produce mature, cross-striated and spontaneously contractile myotubes. The creatine kinase activity was 310 (+/- 45.4) mU/mg protein on day 7 when fusion was complete, and 210 (+/- 15.1) mU/mg protein on day 17 of culture. Mature muscle cultures from animals affected by glycogenosis type II showed the characteristic biochemical and morphological abnormalities previously observed in vivo. Acid alpha-glucosidase activity was absent whereas the activities of neutral alpha-glucosidase, lysosomal alpha-mannosidase and creatine kinase were the same as in cultures of unaffected muscle. The concentration of glycogen was higher in cultured affected muscle than in cultured unaffected muscle. On days 7, 9 and 17 of culture the glycogen concentrations were 66.7 (+/- 2.7), 89.0 (+/- 5.5) and 120.3 (+/- 34.2) micrograms/mg protein respectively in affected muscle and 51.8 (+/- 3.6), 59.9 (+/- 5.4) and 55.4 (+/- 1.0) micrograms/mg protein respectively in non-affected muscle. Electron microscopic studies showed that the glycogen accumulated within the lysosomes. These results indicate that bovine glycogenosis type II is expressed in tissue culture since the cultured skeletal muscle from affected animals shows the same abnormalities as skeletal muscle in vivo.

Organelle pathology in ulcerative and Crohn's colitis with special reference to the lysosomal alterations.

Rectal biopsy specimens from control subjects, patients with either active or quiescent ulcerative colitis, and patients with Crohn's colitis were examined histologically and assayed for marker enzymes associated with tissue organelles. They were catalase (peroxisome); neutral alpha-glucosidase (endoplasmic reticulum); alkaline phosphatase (plasma membrane); malate dehydrogenase (mitochondria); lactate dehydrogenase (cytosol). There was no significant change in these enzyme activities in patient samples compared with controls. Activities of three acid hydrolases (lysosomal enzymes), beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase, and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, were also assayed in the biopsy samples. Decreased activities of all three enzymes were noted in ulcerative colitis, particularly in active disease. Normal values were obtained in Crohn's colitis. Measurement of lysosomal integrity by assays of latent N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity revealed similar results in control and colitic subjects. It is suggested that the lysosomal changes reflect a specific tissue release of enzyme and may be implicated in the pathogenesis of the tissue damage.

Stimulation of the release of lysosomal and nonlysosomal granular enzymes from macrophages treated with monensin.

Mouse peritoneal macrophages that had been treated with a monovalent carboxylic ionophore, monensin, selectively secreted lysosomal and nonlysosomal granular enzymes into the medium. When macrophages were incubated with 1 to 10 microM monensin, the release of beta-glucuronidase, beta-hexosaminidase and beta-galactosidase was stimulated time and does dependently. Neither the beta-glucosidase nor acid phosphatase, enzymes bound to the lysosomal membranes, however, were released by monensin. Neutral alpha-glucosidase, shown recently to be localized in nonlysosomal granules of macrophages (15), was released by monensin at concentrations lower than those required for lysosomal enzyme release. Increased release of lysosomal enzymes also took place in a manner similar to that seen with monensin-treated macrophages after treatment of macrophages with weak bases, chloroquine and ammonium chloride. Neutral alpha-glucosidase, however, was not released when chloroquine was present in concentrations that stimulated the release of lysosomal enzymes. The UDP-galactosyltransferase activity of the Golgi apparatus in the macrophages markedly decreased after treatment with low concentration of monensin.

Effects of biliary diversion to the ileum on the in situ disaccharidase activities of duodenal and ileal mucosa in the rat: a study on enzyme kinetics in tissue sections.

In order to study the influence of biliary secretions on the in situ kinetic data of brush border disaccharidases in relation to small intestinal villus-crypt architecture, an anastomosis was constructed between the common bile duct, which had been divided before its entrance into the pancreatic head, and the ileum in adult female Wistar rats. Simple attachment of the terminal ileum to the liver hilum was performed in the controls. Six weeks after the operation, tissue sections were prepared from duodenum and ileum of biliary-diverted and control animals (n = 5 in each group) and examined by section biochemistry and morphometry. In both groups the apparent Vmax values of neutral alpha-glucosidase and lactase/beta-glucosidase, measured at the villus base and at its apex, and the villus height were decreased from the duodenum towards the distal ileum. After biliary diversion to the ileum, an increase in villus height ensued in this segment, and the increasing gradient of glucosidase activity towards the villus apex, as seen in the ileum of the controls, was no longer detectable. In the duodenum, however, villus height remained unaltered and the in situ activity of the disaccharidases was increased at both villus sites when compared with the controls. The results indicate different effects of bile on mucosal morphology and function in the proximal and distal small intestine.

The adaptive response of disaccharidase activities at different sites along the villus epithelium after proximal intestinal resection in the rat. A microdensitometric study of enzyme kinetics.

The "in situ" kinetic constants (app. Km and Vmax) of brush border neutral alpha-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20) and lactase/beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) were determined 4,6 (only alpha-glucosidase), and 12 days after 60% proximal intestinal resection in rat ileum at the villus base and the transition zone between middle and upper villus third by use of a quantitative biochemical analysis of enzymes in tissue sections (section biochemistry). Sham-operated rats served as controls, and the kinetic data (means per rat, time and villus position) were compared (n = 4 animals in each experimental group) first by an overall factorial analysis of variance and thereafter in detail using nonparametric test procedures. Both enzyme activities exhibited a differential response: No changes of lactase/beta-glucosidase kinetics, but a significant decrease in both Vmax- and Km-values of neutral alpha-glucosidase, which was already fully expressed on day 4 after resection and confined to the apical villus region still implying a basoapical increase of Vmax and thus maintaining the normal activity gradient on a lower level. In conclusion, a complex pattern of enzymatic adaptation to proximal intestinal resection ensues in the hyperplastic ileal mucosa which cannot be explained simply in terms of the hypothesis of cellular immaturity.

Presence of alpha-glucosidases in the male reproductive system of the rat and hormonal influences.

The use of a synthetic substrate (p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-glucoside) to measure alpha-glucosidase activity has allowed us to demonstrate the presence of acid and neutral alpha-glucosidases in the reproductive organs of the male rat. Both enzymes increased in the epididymis, particularly in the caput segment, along with initiation of spermatogenesis at puberty; it then started decreasing after 12 weeks of life. Similar variations were not recorded in testis, prostate, and seminal vesicles. Castration led to a significant decrease of acid and neutral alpha-glucosidases in all accessory reproductive organs, but administration of testosterone proprionate (50 micrograms/day for 10 days) restored the enzyme activity to its original level. When estradiol-17 beta (5 mg) was administered simultaneously with testosterone (500 micrograms), the antagonistic effect of estradiol on testosterone was particularly evident on the levels of neutral alpha-glucosidases which reached the castration range, while the acid alpha-glucosidase remained unchanged in epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicles. These results show that both acid and neutral alpha-glucosidases may be influenced by gonadal hormones in the male rat.