Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 16, Issue 1, 2015

In the last decade, a new class of low abundant plant l ectins was identified. These proteins are expressed after exposure of the plant to different stress factors and changing environmental conditions, and therefore are referred to as “inducible” lectins. Interestingly, these lectins accumulate in the nucleocytoplasmic compartment of plant cells. At present at least six carbohydrate recognition domains have been identified within the group of nucleocytoplasmic plant lectins. This review will focus on a group of proteins that show homology to the Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) agglutinin or Nictaba. The tobacco lectin is a 38 kDa nucleocytoplasmic protein which is only expressed upon treatment with jasmonate-related compounds or after insect herbivory. The lectin exhibits specificity towards GlcNAc, but also reacts with N-glycan structures. Extensive searches revealed that Nictaba-related sequences are widespread in the plant kingdom. Analyses of the different transcriptome databases showed that the Nictaba domain is often part of chimeric proteins comprising one or more Nictaba domain( s) fused to unrelated N- and C-terminal domains with (un)known function. At present only few proteins of these Nictaba-related proteins have been studied and characterized for their biological properties and physiological role. Despite the sequence similarity and the conserved amino acids constituting the binding site, the Nictaba domain has a promiscuous carbohydrate binding site capable of interacting with different carbohydrate motifs, suggesting that subtle changes in the vicinity of the binding site can alter its sugar specificity.

Lectins, the carbohydrate binding proteins have been studied extensively in view of their ubiquitous nature and wide-ranging applications. As they were originally found in plant seed extracts, much of the work on them was focused on plant seed lectins, especially those from legume seeds whereas much less attention was paid to the lectins from other plant families. During the last two decades many studies have been reported on lectins from the seeds of Cucurbitaceae species. The main focus of the present review is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on these proteins, especially with regard to their physico-chemical characterization, interaction with carbohydrates and hydrophobic ligands, 3-dimensional structure and similarity to type-II ribosome inactivating proteins. The future outlook of research on these galactose-specific proteins is also briefly considered.

N-glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) consists of the transfer of a preassembled glycan conserved among species (Glc3Man9GlcNAc2) from a lipid donor to a consensus sequence within a nascent protein that is entering the ER. The protein-linked glycans are then processed by glycosidases and glycosyltransferases in the ER producing specific structures that serve as signalling molecules for the fate of the folding glycoprotein: to stay in the ER during the folding process, to be retrotranslocated to the cytosol for proteasomal degradation if irreversibly misfolded, or to pursue transit through the secretory pathway as a mature glycoprotein. In the ER, each glycan signalling structure is recognized by a specific lectin. A domain similar to that of the mannose 6-phosphate receptors (MPRs) has been identified in several proteins of the secretory pathway. These include the beta subunit of glucosidase II (GII), a key enzyme in the early processing of the transferred glycan that removes middle and innermost glucoses and is involved in quality control of glycoprotein folding in the ER (QC), the lectins OS-9 and XTP3-B, proteins involved in the delivery of ER misfolded proteins to degradation (ERAD), the gamma subunit of the Golgi GlcNAc-1-phosphotransferase, an enzyme involved in generating the mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) signal for sorting acidic hydrolases to lysosomes, and finally the MPRs that deliver those hydrolytic enzymes to the lysosome. Each of the MRH-containing proteins recognizes a different signalling N-glycan structure. Three-dimensional structures of some of the MRH domains have been solved, providing the basis to understand recognition mechanisms.

Lysosomal biogenesis is an important process in eukaryotic cells to maintain cellular homeostasis. The key components that are involved in the biogenesis such as the lysosomal enzymes, their modifications and the mannose 6-phosphate receptors have been well studied and their evolutionary conservation across mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates is clearly established. Invertebrate lysosomal biogenesis pathway on the other hand is not well studied. Although, details on mannose 6-phosphate receptors and enzymes involved in lysosomal enzyme modifications were reported earlier, a clear cut pathway has not been established. Recent research on the invertebrate species involving biogenesis of lysosomal enzymes suggests a possible conserved pathway in invertebrates. This review presents certain observations based on these processes that include biochemical, immunological and functional studies. Major conclusions include conservation of MPR-dependent pathway in higher invertebrates and recent evidence suggests that MPR-independent pathway might have been more prominent among lower invertebrates. The possible components of MPR-independent pathway that may play a role in lysosomal enzyme targeting are also discussed here.

Morphogens exert their effects over long distances, typically by spreading from cell to cell to activate signal transduction in surrounding tissues in concentration-dependent manner. One example of a morphogen is the signaling molecule Hedgehog (Hh), which controls growth and patterning during development and has also been implicated in the progression of numerous cancers. To this end, accessory mechanisms that release, transport, and receive Hhs are required to elicit temporally and spatially specific responses in cells and tissues. The Hh spreading mechanism is especially intriguing, because all Hhs are released from the producing cells despite being synthesized as dually lipidated, membrane-tethered molecules. In addition to this cellular association, Hhs bind strongly to extracellular heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), which is expected to further reduce their spreading. Paradoxically, several lines of evidence suggest that Hh gradient formation actually requires HSPG expression, and that HSPGs act as both positive and negative regulators of Hh function. This article reviews the multiple roles that HSPGs play in Hh morphogen function, and discusses their congruity with proposed mechanisms of Hh solubilization, transport, and signal reception in vertebrate and invertebrate tissues.

A key event in inflammatory disease is the transendothelial recruitment of leukocytes from the circulation to the site of inflammation. Intense research in the past decades indicates that the polyanionic carbohydrate heparan sulphate (HS) modulates multiple steps in the leukocyte recruitment cascade. Leukocyte recruitment is initiated by endothelial cell activation and presentation of chemokines to rolling leukocytes, which, via integrin activation, results in adhesion and diapedesis through the vessel wall. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) immobilize the chemokines on the luminal endothelial cells, rendering them more robust against mechanical or hydrodynamic perturbations. During inflammation, endothelial HSPGs serve as ligands to L-selectin on leukocytes, transport chemokines in a basolateral to apical direction across the endothelium, and present chemokines at the luminal surface of the endothelium to circulating cells. HSPGs also promote chemokine oligomerization, which influences chemokine receptor signaling. Furthermore, proteoglycans of the syndecan family are involved in modulating integrin-mediated tight adhesion of leukocytes to the endothelium. Creation of a chemokine gradient by a localized chemokine release influences the speed of leukocyte recruitment from the blood to the tissue by attracting crawling neutrophils to optimal sites for transmigration. The directionality of intraluminal crawling is thought to be influenced by both mechanotactic and haptotactic signals, which are modulated by HS-dependent signaling processes. Finally, diapedesis is influenced by HS regarding transendothelial chemokine gradient formation and integrin- CAM interactions, and further enhanced by heparanase-mediated degradation of the endothelial basement membrane. Overall, the multifunctional role of HS in inflammation marks it as a potential target of glycan-centered therapeutic approaches.