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Abstract:  Although the submandibular gland (SMG) plays important exocrine and endocrine roles, little is known about the molecular details underlying its development. Previously, we reported that in the postnatally developing hamster SMG, GPT, the protein product of the first N-glycosylation gene, ALG7, was an in vivo marker for salivary cell proliferation. Here we investigated the proliferative, cytoskeletal, and adhesive changes during SMG postnatal development. The cellular localization and abundance of GPT, filamentous actin, and β1 integrin receptor were examined using confocal microscopy and immunoblotting. In neonatal glands, high GPT levels marked extensive cell proliferation throughout the tissue. The apical regions of immature salivary cells displayed intense actin staining, while most of the β1 integrin was diffusely distributed throughout the tissue. As development proceeded, discrete regions of the gland expressed attenuated levels of GPT, an increased organization of actin to the cell cortex, and β1 integrin to the basal lamina. In the adult SMG, differentiated salivary cells displayed low levels of GPT and actin. While the abundance of β1 integrin remained unchanged throughout development, in the adult, it was found exclusively in regions where cells contact the basal lamina. These data indicate that SMG development entails regionalized cell proliferation and polarization, and that these processes are temporally and spatially coordinated with the establishment of stable cell-substratum interactions.

Studies were conducted on the physical properties of Enzyme I, the first protein in the Salmonella typhimurium phosphoenolpyruvate:glycose phosphotransferase system. Since values lower than those previously reported for the monomer molecular weight were obtained, experiments were performed to determine whether Enzyme I had been partially degraded during isolation of homogeneous protein. Crude extracts and partially purified and homogeneous protein preparations exhibited identical behavior in crossed immunoelectrophoresis analyses, indicating that the isolated protein represented native, intact Enzyme I. The monomeric subunit of Enzyme I is globular, with a frictional ratio of about 1. Sedimentation equilibrium experiments provided a monomer molecular weight of 57,700 +/- 3,400, and gel filtration studies under denaturing conditions gave a comparable value of 57,000. The values previously obtained from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate varied with the conditions used, but under one set of conditions agreed with those given above. The sedimentation equilibrium studies were conducted at 8 degrees C, in the absence of substrates and cofactor (phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate, Mg2+). Under these conditions Enzyme I self-associates, but the association is weak, favoring primarily monomer. Because of solubility limitations, the sedimentation experiments were performed with Enzyme I at an initial concentration of 0.5 mg/ml, providing a concentration distribution of 0.1 to 2 mg/ml. Computer analysis of the results showed that within this concentration range it was not possible to distinguish between two modes of self-association, monomer-dimer and isodesmic. The physiological significance of the results is discussed.

The phosphorylation of Enzyme I is the first step in the phosphotransfer reaction sequence catalyzed by the phosphoenolpyruvate:glycose phosphotransferase system (PTS) from Salmonella typhimurium. The characterization of phospho approximately Enzyme I and the reactions in which it participates are described in this report. About 1 mol of phosphoryl group was incorporated per mol of Enzyme I monomer when the homogeneous enzyme was incubated with [32]phosphoenolpyruvate and Mg2+. The phosphoryl group in phospho approximately Enzyme I is linked at the N-3 position in the imidazole ring of a histidine residue. Phospho approximately Enzyme I donates its phosphoryl group to pyruvate (to form phosphoenolpyruvate (P-enolpyruvate)) and to the histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein of the phosphotransferase system (HPr) (to form phospho approximately HPr). In the presence of HPr and appropriate sugar-specific proteins, the phosphoryl group can be transferred from Enzyme I to methyl alpha-glucoside (to form sugar-phosphate). The phosphorylation of Enzyme I by phosphoenolpyruvate requires divalent cation, but the phosphoryl group is transferred from phospho approximately Enzyme I to HPr in the presence of 20 mM EDTA. Kinetic studies show a biphasic rate for Enzyme I phosphorylation, suggesting that the enzyme is phosphorylated in the associated state. Equilibrium experiments were conducted on the following Reactions A and C. (formula: see text). The apparent K' for Reaction B was calculated from K'A and K'C. K'C was found to be about 11. K'A was studied both at very low and high substrate (P-enolpyruvate and pyruvate) concentrations relative to their respective Km values. At low substrate concentrations, the reaction appeared independent of pH in the range of 6.5 to 8.0, and when analyzed according to the simplest expression that could be written for total species of each component (Reaction A), the apparent average K' was 1.5. At high substrate concentrations, about 50% of the Enzyme I was phosphorylated, and this value changed only slightly with large changes in the P-enolpyruvate to pyruvate ratio. Expressions for K'A are derived which partially explain these results by including enzyme-substrate complexes in the equilibrium expression. The K' values were used to derive apparent standard free energy changes for the hydrolysis of the phosphoproteins of the PTS. Since these are similar to those for the hydrolysis of P-enolpyruvate, the phosphate transfer potentials of the PTS phosphoproteins are among the highest of known biological phosphate derivatives. In addition, unlike the reactions which occur during anaerobic glycolysis and electron transport, the high phosphate transfer potential is conserved in the PTS reaction sequence until the last step, the translocation of the sugar substrate across the membrane concomitant with its phosphorylation. Potential regulation of the PTS, in particular the effect of the intracellular ratio of P-enolpyruvate to pyruvate, is considered.

The first enzyme in the lipid-linked oligosaccharide biosynthetic pathway, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-dolichyl-phosphate N-acetylglucosaminephosphotransferase (UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:dolichyl-phosphate-N-acetyl- D-glucosaminephosphotransferase, EC 2.7.8.15), is encoded by the ALG7 gene. We show that this gene is essential for cell growth, since a null mutation constructed with standard gene disruption techniques results in cell lethality. The ALG7 gene is transcribed into two major messages, approximately 1.38 and 1.56 kilobase pairs (kbp) in size, and this heterogeneity has been mapped to the 3' untranslated region. Two sets of tripartite sequences implicated in transcription termination begin 15 bp and 256 bp past the translation stop codon, TGA. The ratios of the two major transcripts change with gene dosage, with the longer mRNA becoming more abundant in cells containing higher levels of the ALG7 gene. Changes in transcript ratios are also observed in mutants defective in lipid-linked sugar-donor biosynthesis. In addition, there is 5' heterogeneity in the ALG7 mRNAs. The transcripts start at four initiation sites located within a 20-bp region. Two potentially functional TATA elements have been identified at positions -157 and -139, which may be involved in initiation from multiple sites. These features point to numerous factors that may be involved in the regulation of the expression of the ALG7 gene.