GPI, lipid anchor that binds a variety of proteins via the C-terminus to a phosphoethanolamine unit at the end of a complex glycosyl moiety. The phospholipid part is embedded in the membrane of the cell.. GPIs have a common pentasaccharide core structure 6-O-NEtP-ManAlpha1-2-ManAlpha1-6-ManAlpha1-4-GlcNAlpha1-6-Ino-1-P. Additional phosphorylations, glycosylations, or acylations at the 2-O position of the myo-inositol occur in a cell-type dependent manner. GPIs are heterogeneous in the glycan as well as the lipid part. Inositol can bear sn-1-alkyl-2-acylglycerol, sn-1,2-diacylglycerol, or ceramide adorned with lipid chains of different lengths and degrees of saturation.
Many eukaryotic cell-surface proteins are anchored to the membrane via glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). There are at least 26 genes involved in biosynthesis and remodeling of GPI anchors. Hypomorphic coding mutations in seven of these genes have been reported to cause decreased expression of GPI anchored proteins (GPI-APs) on the cell surface and to cause autosomal-recessive forms of intellectual disability (ARID). We performed homozygosity mapping and exome sequencing in a family with encephalopathy and non-specific ARID and identified a homozygous 3 bp deletion (p.Leu197del) in the GPI remodeling gene PGAP1. PGAP1 was not described in association with a human phenotype before. PGAP1 is a deacylase that removes an acyl-chain from the inositol of GPI anchors in the endoplasmic reticulum immediately after attachment of GPI to proteins. In silico prediction and molecular modeling strongly suggested a pathogenic effect of the identified deletion. The expression levels of GPI-APs on B lymphoblastoid cells derived from an affected person were normal. However, when those cells were incubated with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC), GPI-APs were cleaved and released from B lymphoblastoid cells from healthy individuals whereas GPI-APs on the cells from the affected person were totally resistant. Transfection with wild type PGAP1 cDNA restored the PI-PLC sensitivity. These results indicate that GPI-APs were expressed with abnormal GPI structure due to a null mutation in the remodeling gene PGAP1. Our results add PGAP1 to the growing list of GPI abnormalities and indicate that not only the cell surface expression levels of GPI-APs but also the fine structure of GPI-anchors is important for the normal neurological development.
Title: Inositol deacylation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins is mediated by mammalian PGAP1 and yeast Bst1p Tanaka S, Maeda Y, Tashima Y, Kinoshita T Ref: Journal of Biological Chemistry, 279:14256, 2004 : PubMed
The inositol moiety of mammalian glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) is acylated at an early step in GPI biosynthesis. The inositol acylation is essential for the generation of mature GPI capable of attachment to proteins. However, the acyl group is usually absent from GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) on the cell surface due to inositol deacylation that occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) soon after GPI-anchor attachment. Mammalian GPI inositol-deacylase has not been cloned, and the biological significance of the deacylation has been unclear. Here we report a GPI inositol-deacylase-deficient Chinese hamster ovary cell line established by taking advantage of resistance to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C and the gene responsible, which was termed PGAP1 for Post GPI Attachment to Proteins 1. PGAP1 encoded an ER-associated, 922-amino acid membrane protein bearing a lipase consensus motif. Substitution of a conserved putative catalytic serine with alanine resulted in a complete loss of function, indicating that PGAP1 is the GPI inositol-deacylase. The mutant cells showed a clear delay in the maturation of GPI-APs in the Golgi and accumulation of GPI-APs in the ER. Thus, the GPI inositol deacylation is important for efficient transport of GPI-APs from the ER to the Golgi.
