Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of the glycosylated alpha-mating factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and analysis of its biological activity

Arch Biochem Biophys. 2002 Oct 1;406(1):127-34. doi: 10.1016/s0003-9861(02)00416-2.

Abstract

The effect of glycosylation on a bioactive peptide was studied using yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-mating factor, which is composed of 13 amino acids. In this study, we prepared glycosylated alpha-mating factor by chemo-enzymatic synthesis. At first, N-acetylglucosaminyl alpha-mating factor (Trp-His-Trp-Leu-Gln(GlcNAc)-Leu-Lys-Pro-Gly-Gln-Pro-Met-Tyr) was chemically synthesized by the solid-phase method. Then, using the transglycosylation activity of Mucor hiemalis endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, we synthesized glycosylated alpha-mating factor with a glutamine-linked sialo complex type oligosaccharide. The biological activity of alpha-mating factor derivatives was examined by means of a growth arrest assay using secreted-protease-defective a cells of S. cerevisiae. The results showed that the bioactivity of glycosylated alpha-mating factor was lower than that of native alpha-mating factor. However, when sialic acid was removed from the complex type sugar chain of glycosylated alpha-mating factor, its bioactivity was recovered. Glycosylated alpha-mating factor exhibited higher resistance against proteolysis than native alpha-mating factor. It was found that the bioactivity of N-acetylglucosaminyl alpha-mating factor was higher than that of alpha-mating factor. Circular dichroism studies indicated that a slight change in the structure of alpha-mating factor may influence its activity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylglucosamine / metabolism*
  • Agglutinins / biosynthesis
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Circular Dichroism
  • Glycoside Hydrolases / metabolism
  • Glycosylation*
  • Mating Factor
  • Mucor / metabolism
  • Peptides / chemical synthesis*
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Protein Conformation
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / growth & development
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / metabolism*
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Substances

  • Agglutinins
  • Peptides
  • Mating Factor
  • Glycoside Hydrolases
  • Acetylglucosamine