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The general features of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) signal have been conserved in evolution. To test whether the requirements for GPI attachment are indeed the same in mammalian cells and parasitic protozoa, we expressed the prototype GPI-linked protein of Trypanosoma brucei, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), in COS cells. Although large amounts of VSG were produced, only a small fraction became GPI linked. This impaired processing is not caused by the VSG ectodomain, since replacement of the VSG GPI signal with that of decay accelerating factor (DAF) produced GPI-linked VSG. Furthermore, whereas fusion of the DAF GPI signal to the COOH terminus of human growth hormone (hGH) produces GPI-linked hGH, an analogous hGH fusion using the VSG GPI signal does not, indicating that the VSG GPI signal functions poorly in mammalian cells. By constructing chimeric VSG-DAF GPI signals and fusing them to the COOH terminus of hGH, we show that of the two critical elements that comprise the GPI-signal--the cleavage/attachment site and the COOH terminal hydrophobic domain--the former is responsible for the impaired activity of the VSG GPI signal in COS cells. To confirm this, we show that the VSG GPI signal can be converted to a viable signal for mammalian cells by altering the amino acid configuration at the cleavage/attachment site. We also show that when fused to the COOH terminus of hGH, the putative GPI signal from the malaria circumsporozoite (CS) protein produces low levels of GPI-anchored hGH, suggesting that the CS protein is indeed GPI linked, but that the CS protein GPI signal, like the VSG-signal, functions poorly in COS cells. The finding that the requirements for GPI attachment are similar but not identical in parasitic protozoa and mammalian cells may allow for the development of selective inhibitors of GPI-anchoring that might prove useful as antiparasite therapeutics.

Glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored membrane proteins are initially synthesized with a cleavable COOH-terminal extension that signals anchor attachment. Overexpression in COS cells of hGH-DAF fusion proteins containing the GPI signal of decay accelerating factor (DAF) fused to the COOH-terminus of human growth hormone (hGH), produces both GPI-anchored hGH-DAF and uncleaved precursors that retain the GPI signal. Using hGH-DAF fusion proteins containing a mutated, noncleavable GPI signal, we show that uncleaved polypeptides are retained inside the cell and accumulate in a brefeldin A-sensitive, Golgi-like juxtanuclear structure. Retention requires the presence of either a functional or a noncleavable GPI signal; hGH-DAF fusion proteins containing only the COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain (a component of the GPI signal) are secreted. Immunofluorescence analysis shows colocalization of the retained, uncleaved fusion proteins with both a Golgi marker and with p53, a marker of the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment. Since N-linked glycosylation is postulated to facilitate the transport of proteins to the cell surface, we engineered a glycosylation site into hGH-DAF. Glycosylation failed to completely override the transport block, but allowed some uncleaved hGH-DAF to pass through the secretory pathway and acquire endoglycosidase H resistance. The retained molecules remained endoglycosidase H sensitive. We suggest that the uncleaved fusion protein is retained in a sorting compartment between the ER and the medial Golgi complex. We speculate that a mechanism exists to retain proteins containing an uncleaved GPI signal as part of a system for quality control.

All known glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored membrane proteins contain a COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain necessary for signalling anchor attachment. To examine the requirement that this signal be at the COOH terminus of the protein, we constructed a chimeric protein, DAFhGH, in which human growth hormone (hGH) was fused to the COOH terminus of decay accelerating factor (DAF) (a GPI-anchored protein), thereby placing the GPI signal in the middle of the chimeric protein. We show that the fusion protein appears to be processed at the normal DAF processing site in COS cells, producing GPI-anchored DAF on the cell surface. This result indicates that the GPI signal does not have to be at the COOH terminus to direct anchor addition, suggesting that the absence of a hydrophilic COOH-terminal extension (beyond the hydrophobic domain) is not a necessary requirement for GPI anchoring. A similar DAFhGH fusion, containing an internal GPI signal in which the DAF hydrophobic domain was replaced with the signal peptide of hGH, also produced GPI-anchored cell surface DAF. The signal for GPI attachment thus exhibits neither position specificity nor sequence specificity. In addition, mutant DAF or DAFhGH constructs lacking an NH2-terminal signal peptide failed to produce GPI-anchored protein, suggesting that membrane translocation is necessary for anchor addition.

Glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor attachment is directed by a cleavable signal at the COOH terminus of the protein. The complete lack of homology among different GPI-anchored proteins suggests that this signal is of a general nature. Previous analysis of the GPI signal of decay accelerating factor (DAF) suggests that the minimal requirements for GPI attachment are (a) a hydrophobic domain and (b) a cleavage/attachment site consisting of a pair of small residues positioned 10-12 residues NH2-terminal to a hydrophobic domain. As an ultimate test of these rules we constructed four synthetic GPI signals, meeting these requirements but assembled entirely from sequence elements not normally involved in GPI attachment. We show that these synthetic signals are able to direct human growth hormone (hGH), a secreted protein, to the plasma membrane via a GPI anchor. Our results indicate that different hydrophobic sequences, derived from either the prolactin or hGH NH2-terminal signal peptide, can be linked to different cleavage sites via different hydrophilic spacers to produce a functional GPI signal. These data confirm that the only requirements for GPI-anchoring are a pair of small residues positioned 10-12 residues NH2 terminal to a hydrophobic domain, no other structural motifs being necessary.

The COOH terminus of decay accelerating factor (DAF) contains a signal that directs attachment of a glycophospholipid (GPI) membrane anchor. To define this signal we deleted portions of the DAF COOH terminus and expressed the mutant cDNAs it CV1 origin-deficient SV-40 cells. Our results show that the COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain (17 residues) is absolutely required for GPI anchor attachment. However, when fused to the COOH terminus of a secreted protein this hydrophobic domain is insufficient to direct attachment of a GPI anchor. Additional specific information located within the adjacent 20 residues appears to be necessary. We speculate that by analogy with signal sequences for membrane translocation, GPI anchor attachment requires both a COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain (the GPI signal) as well as a suitable cleavage/attachment site located NH2 terminal to the signal.

Decay-accelerating factor (DAF), a glycoprotein that is anchored to the cell membrane by phosphatidylinositol, binds activated complement fragments C3b and C4b, thereby inhibiting amplification of the complement cascade on host cell membranes. Here, we report the molecular cloning of human DAF from HeLa cells. Analysis of DAF complementary DNAs revealed two classes of DAF messenger RNA, one apparently derived from the other by a splicing event that causes a coding frameshift near the C terminus. The apparent 'intron' sequence contains an Alu family member and encodes contiguous protein sequence. Two DAF proteins are therefore possible, having divergent C-terminal domains which differ in their hydrophobicity. Both mRNAs are found on polysomes, suggesting that both are translated. We propose that the major (90%) spliced DAF mRNA encodes membrane-bound DAF whereas the minor (10%) unspliced DAF mRNA may encode secreted DAF and we present expression data supporting this. The deduced DAF sequence contains four repeating units homologous to a consensus repeat found in a recently described family of complement proteins.

Decay accelerating factor (DAF) is anchored to the plasma membrane by a glycophospholipid (GPI) membrane anchor covalently attached to the COOH-terminus of the protein. A hydrophobic domain located at the COOH-terminus is required for anchor attachment; DAF molecules lacking this domain are secreted. Replacement of the COOH-terminal hydrophobic domain with a signal peptide that normally functions in membrane translocation, or with a random hydrophobic sequence, results in efficient and correct processing, producing GPI-anchored DAF on the cell surface. The structural requirements for GPI anchor attachment and for membrane translocation are therefore similar, presumably depending on overall hydrophobicity rather than specific sequences.

Decay accelerating factor (DAF) belongs to a novel group of membrane proteins anchored to the cell surface by a glycophospholipid membrane anchor that is covalently attached to the carboxyl terminus of the protein. The last 37 amino acids of membrane DAF, when fused to the carboxyl terminus of a secreted protein, are sufficient to target the fusion protein to the plasma membrane by means of a glycophospholipid anchor. This approach provides a novel means of targeting proteins to the cell-surface membrane.