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The HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope is expressed on a series of cell adhesion molecules and some glycolipids in the nervous system. Two glucuronyltransferases (GlcAT-P and GlcAT-S) are involved in the biosynthesis of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope. In this study, we isolated cDNA and genomic clones encoding the mouse glucuronyltransferase-S involved in the biosynthesis of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope and determined the structural organization of the gene. The deduced amino acid sequence of mouse GlcAT-S consists of 324 amino acids and has a type II membrane topology. The predicted amino acid sequence of mouse GlcAT-S is 98.1% identical to that of rat GlcAT-S. Northern blot analysis revealed that the mouse GlcAT-S transcript is specifically expressed in the nervous system. Moreover, the mouse GlcAT-S gene is composed of four exons spanning over more than 25 kilobase pairs. Southern blot analysis and chromosomal mapping indicated that the mouse GlcAT-S gene is a single copy gene and it was mapped to the A4-B region of mouse chromosome 1.

The acceptor specificity of a rat brain glucuronyltransferase, GlcAT-P, associated with biosynthesis of the HNK-1 epitope on glycoproteins, was investigated using asialoorosomucoid as a model acceptor substrate. Structural analysis of N-linked oligosaccharides, to which glucuronic acid was transferred by GlcAT-P, by means of two-dimensional mapping of pyridylamino-oligosaccharides and MS spectrometry, demonstrated that the enzyme transferred glucuronic acid to bi-, tri-, and tetra-antennary complex type sugar chains, with almost equal efficiency, indicating that the enzyme has no preference as to the number of acceptor sugar branches. Next, we studied the branch specificity of this enzyme by means of the selective branch scission method involving two step exoglycosidase digestion using authentic pyridylamino-oligosaccharides. The GlcAT-P is highly specific for the terminal N-acetyllactosamine structure and no glucuronic acid was incorporated into a Galbeta1-3GlcNAc moiety. The GlcAT-P transferred glucuronic acid to the galactose residues in the N-acetyllactosamine branches of bi-, tri-, and tetra-antennary oligosaccharide chains, with different efficiencies and most preferentially to those in the Galbeta1-4GlcNAcbeta1-4Manalpha1-3 branch.

We characterized the recombinant glucuronyltransferase I (GlcAT-I) involved in the glycosaminoglycan-protein linkage region biosynthesis. The enzyme showed strict specificity for Galbeta1-3Galbeta1-4Xyl, exhibiting negligible incorporation into other galactoside substrates including Galbeta1-3Galbeta1-O-benzyl, Galbeta1-4GlcNAc and Galbeta1-4Glc. A comparison of the GlcAT-I with another beta1,3-glucuronyltransferase involved in the HNK-1 epitope biosynthesis revealed that the two beta1,3-glucuronyltransferases exhibited distinct and no overlapping acceptor substrate specificities in vitro. Nevertheless, the transfection of the GlcAT-I cDNA into COS-1 cells induced the significant expression of the HNK-1 epitope. These results suggested that the high expression of the GlcAT-I gene rendered the cells capable of synthesizing the HNK-1 epitope.

A cDNA encoding a novel glucuronyltransferase was cloned from a rat brain cDNA library. The cDNA sequence contained an open reading frame encoding 324 amino acids, with type II transmembrane topology. The amino acid sequence revealed 49% homology to rat GlcAT-P, a glucuronyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope of glycoproteins, [Terayama et al. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 6093-6098] and the highest sequence homology was found in the catalytic region. Northern blot analysis indicated that this newly cloned glucuronyltransferase is expressed in the nervous system, consistent with the selective localization of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope in the nervous system. Transfection of this cDNA into COS-1 cells induced the expression of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope on cell surfaces, and induced the morphological changes in these cells. These results indicated that this newly cloned cDNA is a second glucuronyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope., (Copyright 1999 Academic Press.)

Genomic DNA was isolated from livers of 39 Japanese and 45 Caucasians and the genotypes of CYP2C9 and 2C19 genes were determined with PCR methods using synthetic oligonucleotide primers. Liver microsomes were also prepared from these human samples and activities for tolbutamide methyl hydroxylation and S-mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylation were determined. The single base mutation of C416T (Arg144Cys) in CYP2C9 was detected in 22% of Caucasians but not in Japanese samples. Another single base mutation at A1061C (Ile359Leu) in the CYP2C9 gene was found with frequencies of about 8% in both races. We did not detect any individuals who have either homozygous Cys144/Cys144 or Leu359/Leu359 CYP2C9 variant nor both heterozygous Cys144-Ile359 and Arg144-Leu359 CYP2C9 variant in the human samples examined. The CYP2C19m2 genetic polymorphism was found only in Japanese people, while CYP2C19m1 type was determined in both races, with higher incidence in Japanese than in Caucasian population. Immunoblotting analysis of human liver microsomes suggested that CYP2C9 is a major component of the human CYP2C enzyme pool; it accounted for approximately 20% of total P450 in liver microsomes of both human populations. The levels of CYP2C19 protein were determined to be about 0.8% and 1.4% of total P450 (mean) in Japanese and Caucasians, respectively. We did not detect CYP2C19 protein in liver microsomes of humans who were genotyped for CYP2C19 gene as m1/m1, m1/m2, and m2/m2 variants but detected CYP2C9 protein in all of the samples examined. Good correlations were found between levels of CYP2C9 and activities of tolbutamide methyl hydroxylation (r = 0.77) and between levels of CYP2C19 and activities of S-mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylation (r = 0.86) in liver microsomes of the human samples examined. Tolbutamide methyl hydroxylation activities were lower in human samples with the Leu359 allele of CYP2C9 than those with the Cys144 allele and wild-type (Arg144-Ile359); the former type showed slightly higher K(m) values. When calculated on P450 basis, liver microsomes of individuals having m1/m1, m1/m2, and m2/m2 types of CYP2C19 had very low catalytic activities for S-mephenytoin 4'-hydroxylation. These results provide useful comparisons for pharmacokinetic and toxicokinetic models of some of the clinically used drugs that are oxidized by CYP2C proteins in humans.