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A Helenius

Publications and source records attributed to A Helenius.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Endoplasmic reticulum glucosidase II is composed of a catalytic subunit, conserved from yeast to mammals, and a tightly bound noncatalytic HDEL-containing subunit.

Trimming of glucoses from N-linked core glycans on newly synthesized glycoproteins occurs sequentially through the action of glucosidases I and II in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). We isolated enzymatically active glucosidase II from rat liver and found that, in contrast with previous reports, it contains two subunits (alpha and beta). Sequence analysis of peptides derived from them allowed us to identify their corresponding human cDNA sequences. The sequence of the alpha subunit predicted a soluble protein (104 kDa) devoid of known signals for residence in the ER. It showed homology with several other glucosidases but not with glucosidase I. Among the homologues, we identified a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, which we showed by gene disruption experiments to be the functional catalytic subunit of glucosidase II. The disrupted yeast strains had no detectable growth defect. The sequence of the beta subunit (58 kDa) showed no sequence homology with other known proteins. It encoded a soluble protein rich in glutamic and aspartic acid with a putative ER retention signal (HDEL) at the C terminus. This suggested that the beta subunit is responsible for the ER localization of the enzyme.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Calnexin and calreticulin promote folding, delay oligomerization and suppress degradation of influenza hemagglutinin in microsomes.

Calnexin (CNX) and calreticulin (CRT) are molecular chaperones that bind preferentially to monoglucosylated trimming intermediates of glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. To determine their role in the maturation of newly synthesized glycoproteins, we analyzed the folding and trimerization of in vitro translated influenza hemagglutinin (HA) in canine pancreas microsomes under conditions in which HA's interactions with CNX and CRT could be manipulated. While CNX bound to all folding intermediates (IT1, IT2 and NT), CRT was found to associate preferentially with the earliest oxidative form (IT1). If HA's binding to CNX and CRT was inhibited using a glucosidase inhibitor, castanospermine (CST), the rate of disulfide formation and oligomerization was doubled but the overall efficiency of maturation of HA decreased due to aggregation and degradation. If, on the other hand, HA was arrested in CNX-CRT complexes, folding and trimerization were inhibited. This suggested that the action of CNX and CRT, like that of other chaperones, depended on an 'on-and-off' cycle. Taken together, these results indicated that CNX and CRT promote correct folding by inhibiting aggregation, preventing premature oxidation and oligomerization, and by suppressing degradation of incompletely folded glycopolypeptides.

Animals↗

Glycan-dependent and -independent association of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein with calnexin.

Calnexin (CNX) is a membrane-bound molecular chaperone that associates with newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Although several studies have indicated that it interacts exclusively with glycoproteins that carry monoglucosylated N-linked oligosaccharides, others have reported that it can bind to proteins that have no glycans. To address this discrepancy, we translated wild-type vesicular stomatitis virus G protein and nonglycosylated mutant forms in the presence of microsomes and examined their association with CNX. Individual G protein molecules were found to efficiently associate with CNX when both glycans were present and less efficiently if there was only a single glycan. Nonglycosylated G protein also interacted with CNX, but only when misfolded and present in high molecular weight aggregates. The results indicated that CNX can interact with G protein in two ways: through an oligosaccharide-dependent mechanism that involves individual substrate proteins; and in an oligosaccharide-independent association with large aggregates.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The role of the adenovirus protease on virus entry into cells.

Adenovirus uncoating is a stepwise process which culminates in the release of the viral DNA into the nucleus through the nuclear pore complexes and dissociation of the capsid. Using quantitative biochemical, immunochemical and morphological methods, we demonstrate that inhibitors of the cystine protease, L3/p23, located inside the capsid block the degradation of the capsid-stabilizing protein VI, and prevent virus uncoating at the nuclear membrane. There was no effect on virus internalization, fiber shedding and virus binding to the nuclear envelope. The viral enzyme (dormant in the extracellular virus) was activated by two separate signals, neither of which was sufficient alone; virus interaction with the integrin receptor (inhibited with RGD peptides) and re-entry of the virus particle into a reducing environment in the endosome or the cytosol. Incorrectly assembled mutant viruses that lack the functional protease (ts1) failed at releasing fibers and penetrating into the cytosol. The results indicated that L3/p23 is needed not only to assemble an entry-competent virus but also to disassemble the incoming virus.

Adenoviruses, Human↗

Folding, unfolding, and refolding of the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein.

Folding and refolding of the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) glycoprotein (G protein), New Jersey serotype, were studied both in infected cells and after urea denaturation and reduction of isolated protein in vitro. To assess the contribution of disulfide bonds to the conformation of this type I membrane glycoprotein, reduced and alkylated forms were compared with unreduced G proteins by their mobility on SDS-polyacrylamide gels and by their reactivity with conformation-dependent monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Pulse-chase experiments showed that G protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of infected cells occurred rapidly (estimated half-time of 1-2 min) and involved transient association with the ER chaperone calnexin. Inhibition of glycosylation by tunicamycin slowed the folding process and emergence from the ER but did not prevent the appearance of a conformationally mature transport-competent G protein. For in vitro refolding studies, native G protein isolated from virus particles was denatured and reduced with urea and beta-mercaptoethanol. When rapidly diluted into a denaturant-free buffer containing oxidized glutathione and the nonionic detergent octyl glucoside, the G protein regained considerable native structure, as determined by reactivity with five monoclonal antibodies specific for different conformation-dependent epitopes. Whereas the refolding process was slow and inefficient in vitro relative to folding in the cell, this observation nonetheless demonstrated that an integral fully glycosylated membrane protein can be refolded to form a structure similar to that of the original protein processed during in vivo synthesis. If, however, unfolded nonglycosylated G protein was the starting material, refolding in vitro failed. In summary, we have shown that VSV G protein folding can be analyzed both in vivo and in vitro and that folding in the cell involves at least one chaperone and can occur in vivo even if not glycosylated.

Animals↗

The role of nuclear import and export in influenza virus infection.

Infection with influenza virus involves a complex series of nuclear import and export events. Early in infection, incoming viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) are imported into the nucleus. Later, viral transcripts are exported from the nucleus, newly synthesized structural proteins are transported back into the nucleus and, finally, newly assembled vRNPs are exported. All these import and export steps, and, in particular, the bidirectional traffic of vRNPs rely on the transport machinery of the cell, but are regulated both by viral and cellular factors. The viral MI protein serves as the master organizer in determining the directionality of vRNP transport.

Journal Article↗

Effect of M1 protein and low pH on nuclear transport of influenza virus ribonucleoproteins.

Influenza virus enters its host cell by receptor-mediated endocytosis followed by acid-activated membrane fusion in endosomes. The viral ribonucleoprotein particles (vRNPs) delivered into the cytosol then dissociate from the matrix protein, M1, and from each other, after which they are individually imported into the nucleus via the nuclear pores. For some time, it has been believed that the low pH in endosomes may, in some way, trigger the capsid disassembly events necessary for nuclear transport. This report provides direct evidence that the association of M1 with vRNPs is sensitive to mildly acidic pH within the infected cell. Recombinant M1, expressed in cultured cells, was found to associate with vRNPs and inhibit their nuclear import. Brief acidification of the cytosolic compartment eliminated the interfering activity and allowed the incoming vRNPs to enter the nucleus. Newly assembled progeny M1-vRNP complexes in the cytosol of infected cells were also dissociated by brief acidification. Acidic pH was thus found to serve as a switch that allowed M1 to carry out its multiple functions in the uncoating, nuclear transport, and assembly of vRNPs.

Animals↗

Nuclear trafficking of influenza virus ribonuleoproteins in heterokaryons.

The influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP), matrix protein (M1), and ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) undergo regulated nuclear import and export during infection. Their trafficking was analyzed by using interspecies heterokaryons containing nuclei from infected and uninfected cells. Under normal conditions, it was demonstrated that the vRNPs which were assembled in the nucleus and transported to the cytosol were prevented from reimport into the nucleus. To be import competent, they must first assemble into virions and enter by the endosomal entry pathway. In influenza virus mutant ts51, in which M1 is defective, direct reimport took place but was inhibited by heterologous expression of wild-type M1. These data confirm M1's role as the inhibitor of premature nuclear import and as the main regulator of nuclear transport of vRNPs. In addition to this vRNP shuttling, M1 also shuttled between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in ts51-infected cells. When NP was expressed in the absence of virus infection, it was also found to be a shuttling protein.

Animals↗

Calnexin fails to associate with substrate proteins in glucosidase-deficient cell lines.

Increasing evidence shows that calnexin, a membrane-bound chaperone in the endoplasmic reticulum, is a lectin that binds to newly synthesized glycoproteins that have partially trimmed N-linked oligosaccharides. It specifically attaches to core glycans from which two glucoses have been removed by glucosidases I and II. Several recent reports suggest, however, that it can also bind to proteins devoid of N-linked glycans. To investigate the extent of glycan-independent binding, we have analyzed two mutant cell lines (Lec 23 and PhaR2.7) that are unable to process the core glycans because they lack glucosidase I or glucosidase II, respectively. In contrast to parental cell lines, calnexin binding of substrate proteins was found to be virtually nonexistent in these cells. Neither cellular nor viral proteins associated with the chaperone. It was concluded that glycans are crucial for calnexin association and that the vast majority of substrate proteins are therefore glycoproteins.

Animals↗

Cotranslational folding and calnexin binding during glycoprotein synthesis.

To analyze cotranslational folding of influenza hemagglutinin in the endoplasmic reticulum of live cells, we used short pulses of radiolabeling followed by immunoprecipitation and analysis with a two-dimensional SDS/polyacrylamide gel system which was nonreducing in the first dimension and reducing in the second. It separated nascent glycopolypeptides of different length and oxidation state. Evidence was obtained for cotranslational disulfide formation, generation of conformational epitopes, N-linked glycosylation, and oligosaccharide-dependent binding of calnexin, a membrane-bound chaperone that binds to incompletely folded glycoproteins via partially glucose-trimmed oligosaccharides. When glycosylation or oligosaccharide trimming was inhibited, the folding pathway was perturbed, suggesting a role for N-linked oligosaccharides and calnexin during translation of hemagglutinin.

Animals↗

Glucose trimming and reglucosylation determine glycoprotein association with calnexin in the endoplasmic reticulum.

To determine the role of N-linked oligosaccharides in the folding of glycoproteins, we analyzed the processing of in vitro translated influenza hemagglutinin (HA) in dog pancreas microsomes. We found that binding to calnexin, a membrane-bound molecular chaperone, was specific to molecules that possessed monoglucosylated core glycans. In the microsomes, these were generated either by glucose removal from the original triglucosylated core oligosaccharide by glucosidases I and II or by reglucosylation of already unglucosylated high mannose glycans. Release of fully folded HA from calnexin required the removal of the remaining glucose by glucosidase II. The results provided an explanation for trimming and reglucosylation activities in the endoplasmic reticulum and established a direct correlation between glycosylation and folding.

Animals↗

Folding and oligomerization of influenza hemagglutinin in the ER and the intermediate compartment.

Influenza hemagglutinin (HA) was used to analyze the stepwise folding and oligomeric assembly of glycoproteins in the early secretory pathway of living cells. In addition to mature trimers, six distinct maturation intermediates were identified. Of these, all the incompletely oxidized forms were located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and associated with calnexin, a membrane-bound, lectin-like ER chaperone. Once fully oxidized, the HA dissociated from calnexin as a monomer, which rapidly became resistant to dithiothreitol (DTT) reduction. Part of these extensively folded molecules moved as monomers into the intermediate compartment between the ER and the Golgi complex. Assembly of homotrimers occurred without calnexin-involvement within the ER and in the intermediate compartment. When anchor-free HA molecules were analyzed, it was found that they reach the DTT-resistant monomeric conformation but fail to trimerize. Taken together, the results provide a definition and intracellular localization of several intermediates in the conformational maturation of HA, including the immediate precursor for trimer assembly.

Animals↗

Quality control in the secretory pathway.

Whereas newly synthesized proteins that have acquired a properly folded and assembled structure are transported from the endoplasmic reticulum to their final destinations, incompletely folded and assembled proteins are, as a rule, retained and eventually degraded. The molecular mechanisms of this unique molecular sorting phenomenon, called 'quality control', have been illuminated by recent studies.

Animals↗

BiP/Kar2p serves as a molecular chaperone during carboxypeptidase Y folding in yeast.

Although transiently associated with numerous newly synthesized proteins, BiP has not been shown to be an essential component directly linked to the folding and oligomerization of newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. To determine whether it is needed as a molecular chaperone, we analyzed the maturation of an endogenous yeast glycoprotein, carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) in several yeast strains with temperature-sensitive mutations in BiP. These kar2 mutant strains have previously been found to be defective in translocation at the nonpermissive temperature (Vogel, J. P., L. M. Misra, and M. D. Rose, 1990. J. Cell Biol, 110:1885-1895). To circumvent the translocation block, we used DTT at permissive temperature to delay folding and intracellular transport. We then followed the maturation of the ER-retained CPY after shifting to the nonpermissive temperature and dilution of the DTT. Without the functional chaperone, CPY aggregated, failed to be oxidized, and remained in the ER. In contrast to wild-type cells, in which BiP binding was transient with no more than 10-15% of labeled CPY associated at any time, 30-100% of the CPY remained associated with BiP in the mutant strains. In a heterozygous diploid strain, CPY matured and exited the ER normally. Taken together, the results provide clear evidence that BiP plays a critical role as a molecular chaperone in CPY folding.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Transient, lectin-like association of calreticulin with folding intermediates of cellular and viral glycoproteins.

The soluble, calcium-binding protein calreticulin shares high sequence homology with calnexin, a transmembrane chaperone of glycoprotein folding. Our experiments demonstrated that calreticulin, like calnexin, associated transiently with numerous newly synthesized proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. The population of proteins that bound to calreticulin was partially overlapping with those that bound to calnexin. Hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza virus was shown to associate with both calreticulin and calnexin. Using HA as a model substrate, it was found that both calreticulin- and calnexin-bound HA corresponded primarily to incompletely disulfide-bonded folding intermediates and conformationally trapped forms. Binding of all substrates was oligosaccharide-dependent and required the trimming of glucose residues from asparagine-linked core glycans by glucosidases I and II. In vitro, alpha-mannosidase digestion of calreticulin-bound HA indicated that calreticulin was specific for monoglucosylated glycans. Thus, calreticulin appeared to be a lectin with similar oligosaccharide specificity as its membrane-bound homologue, calnexin. Both are therefore likely to play an important role in glycoprotein maturation and quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Animals↗

Hyperphosphorylation of mutant influenza virus matrix protein, M1, causes its retention in the nucleus.

The matrix (M1) protein of influenza virus is a major structural component, involved in regulation of viral ribonucleoprotein transport into and out of the nucleus. Early in infection, M1 is distributed in the nucleus, whereas later, it is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. Using immunofluorescence microscopy and the influenza virus mutant ts51, we found that at the nonpermissive temperature M1 was retained in the nucleus, even at late times after infection. In contrast, the viral nucleoprotein (NP), after a temporary retention in the nucleus, was distributed in the cytoplasm. Therefore, mutant M1 supported the release of the viral ribonucleoproteins from the nucleus, but not the formation of infectious virions. The point mutation in the ts51 M1 gene was predicted to encode an additional phosphorylation site. We observed a substantial increase in the incorporation of 32Pi into M1 at the nonpermissive temperature. The critical role of this phosphorylation site was demonstrated by using H89, a protein kinase inhibitor; it inhibited the expression of the mutant phenotype, as judged by M1 distribution in the cell. Immunofluorescence analysis of ts51-infected cells after treatment with H89 showed a wild-type phenotype. In summary, the data indicated that the ts51 M1 protein was hyperphosphorylated at the nonpermissive temperature and that this phosphorylation was responsible for its aberrant nuclear retention.

Amino Acid Sequence↗