bims-supasi 2023-02-05 papers

bims-supasi

Biomed News

on Sulfation pathways and signalling

Issue of 2023‒02‒05
nine papers selected by
Jonathan Wolf Mueller
University of Birmingham

A novel 4-O-endosulfatase with high potential for the structure-function studies of chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate.
Archaic connectivity between the sulfated heparan sulfate and the herpesviruses - An evolutionary potential for cross-species interactions.
Design of a biocatalytic cascade for the enzymatic sulfation of unsulfated chondroitin with in situ generation of PAPS.
N-sulfonation of heparan sulfate is essential for neuroectodermal patterning in Xenopus embryos.
Heparan sulfate proteoglycans in cancer: Pathogenesis and therapeutic potential.
SLC26A1 is a major determinant of sulfate homeostasis in humans.
Sulfated Hyperbranched and Linear Polyglycerols Modulate HMGB1 and Morphological Plasticity in Neural Cells.
Effects of steroid hormones on lipid metabolism in sexual dimorphism: A Mendelian randomization study.
"Glyco-sulfo barcodes" regulate chemokine receptor function.

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Apr 01. pii: S0144-8617(22)01413-8. [Epub ahead of print]305 120508

A novel 4-O-endosulfatase with high potential for the structure-function studies of chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate.

Lin Wei, Yingying Xu, Min Du, Ying Fan, Ruyi Zou, Xiangyu Xu, Qingdong Zhang, Yu-Zhong Zhang, Wenshuang Wang, Fuchuan Li.

  The sulfation patterns of chondroitin sulfate (CS)/dermatan sulfate (DS), which encode unique biological information, play critical roles in the various biological functions of CS/DS chains. CS/DS sulfatases, which can specifically hydrolyze sulfate groups, could potentially be essential tools for deciphering and changing the biological information encoded by these sulfation patterns. However, endosulfatase with high activity to efficiently hydrolyze the sulfate groups inside CS/DS polysaccharides have rarely been identified, which hinders the practical applications of CS/DS sulfatases. Herein, a novel CS/DS 4-O-endosulfatase (endoBI4SF) with a strong ability to completely remove 4-O-sulfated groups inside various CS/DS polysaccharides was identified and successfully used to investigate the biological roles of 4-O-sulfated CS/DS in vitro and in vivo. This study provides a much-needed tool to tailor the sulfation patterns and explore the related functions of 4-O-sulfated CS/DS chains in vitro and in vivo.

Keywords:  4-O-endosulfatase; Application in vitro/in vivo; Chondroitin sulfate (CS)/dermatan sulfate (DS); Sulfation pattern

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.120508
Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2023 ;21 1030-1040

Archaic connectivity between the sulfated heparan sulfate and the herpesviruses - An evolutionary potential for cross-species interactions.

James Elste, Angelica Chan, Chandrashekhar Patil, Vinisha Tripathi, Daniel M Shadrack, Dinesh Jaishankar, Andrew Hawkey, Michelle Swanson Mungerson, Deepak Shukla, Vaibhav Tiwari.

  The structural diversity of metazoic heparan sulfate (HS) composed of unique sulfated domains is remarkably preserved among various vertebrates and invertebrate species. Interestingly the sulfated moieties of HS have been known as the key determinants generating extraordinary ligand binding sites in the HS chain to regulate multiple biological functions and homeostasis. One such ligand for 3-O sulfation in the HS chain is a glycoprotein D (gD) from an ancient herpesvirus, herpes simplex virus (HSV). This interaction between gD and 3-O sulfated HS leads to virus-cell fusion to promote HSV entry. It is quite astonishing that HSV-1, which infects two-thirds of the world population, is also capable of causing severe diseases in primates and non-primates including primitive zebrafish. Supporting evidence that HSV may cross the species barrier comes from the fact that an enzymatic modification in HS encoded by 3-O sulfotransferase-3 (3-OST-3) from a vertebrate zoonotic species enhances HSV-1 infectivity. The latter phenomenon suggests the possible role of sulfated-HS as an entry receptor during reverse zoonosis, especially during an event when humans encounter domesticated animals in proximity. In this mini-review, we explore the possibility that structural diversity in HS may have played a substantial role in species-specific adaptability for herpesviruses in general including their potential role in promoting cross-species transmission.

Keywords:  Heparan sulfare; Sulphated heparan sulfate; Virus cell fusion; Virus cell-to-cell spread; Virus entry

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2023.01.005
Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 ;11 1099924

Design of a biocatalytic cascade for the enzymatic sulfation of unsulfated chondroitin with in situ generation of PAPS.

Dianelis T Monterrey, Raúl Benito-Arenas, Julia Revuelta, Eduardo García-Junceda.

  Sulfation of molecules in living organisms is a process that plays a key role in their functionality. In mammals, the sulfation of polysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans) that form the proteoglycans present in the extracellular matrix is particularly important. These polysaccharides, through their degree and sulfation pattern, are involved in a variety of biological events as signal modulators in communication processes between the cell and its environment. Because of this great biological importance, there is a growing interest in the development of efficient and sustainable sulfation processes, such as those based on the use of sulfotransferase enzymes. These enzymes have the disadvantage of being 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) dependent, which is expensive and difficult to obtain. In the present study, a modular multienzyme system was developed to allow the in situ synthesis of PAPS and its coupling to a chondroitin sulfation system. For this purpose, the bifunctional enzyme PAPS synthase 1 (PAPSS1) from Homo sapiens, which contains the ATP sulfurylase and APS kinase activities in a single protein, and the enzyme chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase (C4ST-1) from Rattus norvegicus were overexpressed in E. coli. The product formed after coupling of the PAPS generation system and the chondroitin sulfation module was analyzed by NMR.

Keywords:  APS kinase; ATP sulfurylase; PAPS synthase; biocatalytic cascade; chondroitin sulfate; enzymatic sulfation; glycosaminoglycans; sulfotransferases

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1099924
Dev Growth Differ. 2023 Feb 01.

N-sulfonation of heparan sulfate is essential for neuroectodermal patterning in Xenopus embryos.

Takayoshi Yamamoto, Yuta Kambayashi, Kohei Tsukano, Tatsuo Michiue.

  Neural tissue is derived from three precursor regions: neural plate, neural crest, and preplacodal ectoderm. These regions are determined by morphogen-mediated signaling. Morphogen distribution is generally regulated by binding to an extracellular matrix component, heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycan. HS is modified by many enzymes, such as N-deacetyl sulfotransferase 1 (Ndst1), which is highly expressed in early development. However, functions of HS modifications in ectodermal patterning are largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed the role of Ndst1 using Xenopus embryos. We found that ndst1 was expressed in anterior neural plate and the trigeminal region at the neurula stage. ndst1 overexpression expanded the neural crest (NC) region, whereas translational inhibition reduced not only the trigeminal region, but also the adjacent NC region, especially the anterior part. At a later stage, ndst1 knocked-down embryos showed defects in cranial ganglion formation. We also found that Ndst1 activates Wnt signaling pathway at the neurula stage. Taken together, our results suggest that N-sulfonated HS accumulates Wnt ligand and activates Wnt signaling in ndst1-expressing cells, but that it inhibits signaling in non-ndst1-expressing cells, leading to proper neuroectodermal patterning.

Keywords:  Wnt; Xenopus; ectoderm; heparan sulfate; morphogen

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/dgd.12843
Adv Cancer Res. 2023 ;pii: S0065-230X(22)00087-2. [Epub ahead of print]157 251-291

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans in cancer: Pathogenesis and therapeutic potential.

Hua Yang, Lianchun Wang.

  The heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are glycoproteins that consist of a proteoglycan "core" protein and covalently attached heparan sulfate (HS) chain. HSPGs are ubiquitously expressed in mammalian cells on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and secretory vesicles. Within HSPGs, the protein cores determine when and where HSPG expression takes place, and the HS chains mediate most of HSPG's biological roles through binding various protein ligands, including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and receptors, morphogens, proteases, protease inhibitors, and ECM proteins. Through these interactions, HSPGs modulate cell proliferation, adhesion, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis to display essential functions in physiology and pathology. Under physiological conditions, the expression and localization of HSPGs are finely regulated to orchestrate their physiological functions, and this is disrupted in cancer. The HSPG dysregulation elicits multiple oncogenic signaling, including growth factor signaling, ECM and Integrin signaling, chemokine and immune signaling, cancer stem cell, cell differentiation, apoptosis, and senescence, to prompt cell transformation, proliferation, tumor invasion and metastasis, tumor angiogenesis and inflammation, and immunotolerance. These oncogenic roles make HSPGs an attractive pharmacological target for anti-cancer therapy. Several therapeutic strategies have been under development, including anti-HSPG antibodies, peptides and HS mimetics, synthetic xylosides, and heparinase inhibitors, and shown promising anti-cancer efficacy. Therefore, much progress has been made in this line of study. However, it needs to bear in mind that the roles of HSPGs in cancer can be either oncogenic or tumor-suppressive, depending on the HSPG and the cancer cell type with the underlying mechanisms that remain obscure. Further studies need to address these to fill the knowledge gap and rationalize more efficient therapeutic targeting.

Keywords:  Cancer; Expression; Heparan sulfate proteoglycan; Signaling; Therapeutic development

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2022.08.001
J Clin Invest. 2023 Feb 01. pii: e161849. [Epub ahead of print]133(3):

SLC26A1 is a major determinant of sulfate homeostasis in humans.

Anja Pfau, Karen I López-Cayuqueo, Nora Scherer, Matthias Wuttke, Annekatrin Wernstedt, Daniela González Fassrainer, Desiree Ec Smith, Jiddeke M van de Kamp, Katharina Ziegeler, Kai-Uwe Eckardt, Friedrich C Luft, Peter S Aronson, Anna Köttgen, Thomas J Jentsch, Felix Knauf.

  Sulfate plays a pivotal role in numerous physiological processes in the human body, including bone and cartilage health. A role of the anion transporter SLC26A1 (Sat1) for sulfate reabsorption in the kidney is supported by the observation of hyposulfatemia and hypersulfaturia in Slc26a1-knockout mice. The impact of SLC26A1 on sulfate homeostasis in humans remains to be defined. By combining clinical genetics, functional expression assays, and population exome analysis, we identify SLC26A1 as a sulfate transporter in humans and experimentally validate several loss-of-function alleles. Whole-exome sequencing from a patient presenting with painful perichondritis, hyposulfatemia, and renal sulfate wasting revealed a homozygous mutation in SLC26A1, which has not been previously described to the best of our knowledge. Whole-exome data analysis of more than 5,000 individuals confirmed that rare, putatively damaging SCL26A1 variants were significantly associated with lower plasma sulfate at the population level. Functional expression assays confirmed a substantial reduction in sulfate transport for the SLC26A1 mutation of our patient, which we consider to be novel, as well as for the additional variants detected in the population study. In conclusion, combined evidence from 3 complementary approaches supports SLC26A1 activity as a major determinant of sulfate homeostasis in humans. In view of recent evidence linking sulfate homeostasis with back pain and intervertebral disc disorder, our study identifies SLC26A1 as a potential target for modulation of musculoskeletal health.

Keywords:  Cartilage; Epithelial transport of ions and water; Genetic diseases; Genetics; Nephrology

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI161849
ACS Chem Neurosci. 2023 Jan 30.

Sulfated Hyperbranched and Linear Polyglycerols Modulate HMGB1 and Morphological Plasticity in Neural Cells.

Dusica Maysinger, Issan Zhang, Pei You Wu, Marten Kagelmacher, Haiming Daniel Luo, Jayachandran N Kizhakkedathu, Jens Dernedde, Matthias Ballauff, Rainer Haag, Adeola Shobo, Gerhard Multhaup, R Anne McKinney.

  The objective of this study was to establish if polyglycerols with sulfate or sialic acid functional groups interact with high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), and if so, which polyglycerol could prevent loss of morphological plasticity in excitatory neurons in the hippocampus. Considering that HMGB1 binds to heparan sulfate and that heparan sulfate has structural similarities with dendritic polyglycerol sulfates (dPGS), we performed the experiments to show if polyglycerols can mimic heparin functions by addressing the following questions: (1) do dendritic and linear polyglycerols interact with the alarmin molecule HMGB1? (2) Does dPGS interaction with HMGB1 influence the redox status of HMGB1? (3) Can dPGS prevent the loss of dendritic spines in organotypic cultures challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)? LPS plays a critical role in infections with Gram-negative bacteria and is commonly used to test candidate therapeutic agents for inflammation and endotoxemia. Pathologically high LPS concentrations and other stressful stimuli cause HMGB1 release and post-translational modifications. We hypothesized that (i) electrostatic interactions of hyperbranched and linear polysulfated polyglycerols with HMGB1 will likely involve sites similar to those of heparan sulfate. (ii) dPGS can normalize HMGB1 compartmentalization in microglia exposed to LPS and prevent dendritic spine loss in the excitatory hippocampal neurons. We performed immunocytochemistry and biochemical analyses combined with confocal microscopy to determine cellular and extracellular locations of HMGB1 and morphological plasticity. Our results suggest that dPGS interacts with HMGB1 similarly to heparan sulfate. Hyperbranched dPGS and linear sulfated polymers prevent dendritic spine loss in hippocampal excitatory neurons. MS/MS analyses reveal that dPGS-HMGB1 interactions result in fully oxidized HMGB1 at critical cysteine residues (Cys23, Cys45, and Cys106). Triply oxidized HMGB1 leads to the loss of its pro-inflammatory action and could participate in dPGS-mediated spine loss prevention. LPG-Sia exposure to HMGB1 results in the oxidation of Cys23 and Cys106 but does not normalize spine density.

Keywords:  HMGB1; astrocytes; dendritic spines; lipopolysaccharide; microglia; polyglycerols

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00558
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 ;13 1119154

Effects of steroid hormones on lipid metabolism in sexual dimorphism: A Mendelian randomization study.

Junzhi Liang, Bowen Zhang, Yannan Hu, Zhijing Na, Da Li.

  Background: Although the role of steroid hormones in lipid levels has been partly discussed in the context of separate sexes, the causal relationship between steroid hormones and lipid metabolism according to sex has not been elucidated because of the limitations of observational studies. We assessed the relationship between steroid hormones and lipid metabolism in separate sexes using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study.Methods: Instrumental variables for dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), progesterone, estradiol, and androstenedione were selected. MR analysis was performed using inverse-variance weighted, MR-Egger, weighted median, and MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier tests. Cochran's Q test, the MR-Egger intercept test, and leave-one-out analysis were used for sensitivity analyses.
Results: The results showed that the three steroid hormones affected lipid metabolism and exhibited sex differences. In males, DHEAS was negatively correlated with total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and apolipoprotein B (P = 0.007; P = 0.006; P = 0.041, respectively), and progesterone was negatively correlated with TC and LDL-C (P = 0.019; P = 0.038, respectively). In females, DHEAS was negatively correlated with TC (P = 0.026) and androstenedione was negatively correlated with triglycerides and apolipoprotein A (P = 0.022; P = 0.009, respectively). No statistically significant association was observed between the estradiol levels and lipid metabolism in male or female participants.
Conclusions: Our findings identified sex-specific causal networks between steroid hormones and lipid metabolism. Steroid hormones, including DHEAS, progesterone, and androstenedione, exhibited beneficial effects on lipid metabolism in both sexes; however, the specific lipid profiles affected by steroid hormones differed between the sexes.

Keywords:  Mendelian randomization study; lipid metabolism; sexual dimorphism; single-nucleotide polymorphisms; steroid hormones

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1119154
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2023 Feb 02. 80(2): 55

"Glyco-sulfo barcodes" regulate chemokine receptor function.

Lisa Verhallen, Jarkko J Lackman, Rikke Wendt, Martin Gustavsson, Zhang Yang, Yoshiki Narimatsu, Daniel M Sørensen, Kato Mac Lafferty, Mieke Gouwy, Pedro E Marques, Gertrud M Hjortø, Mette M Rosenkilde, Paul Proost, Christoffer K Goth.

  Chemokine ligands and receptors regulate the directional migration of leukocytes. Post-translational modifications of chemokine receptors including O-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation have been reported to regulate ligand binding and resulting signaling. Through in silico analyses, we determined potential conserved O-glycosylation and sulfation sites on human and murine CC chemokine receptors. Glyco-engineered CHO cell lines were used to measure the impact of O-glycosylation on CC chemokine receptor CCR5, while mutation of tyrosine residues and treatment with sodium chlorate were performed to determine the effect of tyrosine sulfation. Changing the glycosylation or tyrosine sulfation on CCR5 reduced the receptor signaling by the more positively charged CCL5 and CCL8 more profoundly compared to the less charged CCL3. The loss of negatively charged sialic acids resulted only in a minor effect on CCL3-induced signal transduction. The enzymes GalNAc-T1 and GalNAc-T11 were shown to be involved in the process of chemokine receptor O-glycosylation. These results indicate that O-glycosylation and tyrosine sulfation are involved in the fine-tuning and recognition of chemokine interactions with CCR5 and the resulting signaling.

Keywords:  Chemokine receptor; G protein-coupled receptor; O-glycosylation; Tyrosine sulfation

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-04697-9