Intra- and extracellular forms of ethanol-modified O-underglycosylated galactose oxidase

The effect of ethanol and tunicamycin on synthesis and secretion of galactose oxidase was studied in resting cells of Dactylium dendroides. Ethanol promoted an overall decrease in both intra- and extracellular enzyme levels to the same extent that it inhibited [14C]glucosamine incorporation into total protein. The carbohydrate content of the intracellular enzyme was also depressed (44%) with a simultaneous decrease in O-Ser linked oligosaccharides. The intracellular galactose oxidase obtained after exposure of mycelia to ethanol plus tunicamycin lost 86% of its carbohydrate moieties, whereas the extracellular form lost only 35%. In both cases, residual sugar moieties were not eliminated by mild alkaline treatment. These data suggest that ethanol affects O-glycosylation of galactose oxidase. O-Underglycosylation did not affect the S0.5 values for galactose but diminished the molar catalytic activity. The absence of O-Ser/Thr-linked saccharides turned the intracellular enzyme into a form more susceptible to proteolysis than that devoid of N-linked sugars (tunicamycin-treated). O-Underglycosylation had a significant effect on the renaturation-reactivation of the enzyme after denaturation with 2.4 M Gdn-HCl.