The dolichol pathway in the retina: oligosaccharide-lipid biosynthesis

The formation of the oligosaccharide-lipid intermediates of the dolichol pathway by the bovine retina was investigated. Intact retinas were incubated in vitro for various periods of time in the presence of a variety of radioactive sugars (2-[3H]mannose, 6-[3H]glucose, 1-[3H]galactose, 1-[14C]glucosamine) using incubation conditions which have been shown previously to support the glycosylation of rhodopsin. The oligosaccharide-lipids were isolated and partially purified by DEAE cellulose chromatography. After mild acid hydrolysis and reduction, the oligosaccharides were analysed by HPLC. Further identification was obtained by chemical means and after digestion of the oligosaccharides with alpha-mannosidase and endohexosaminidase H. The full array of oligosaccharide-lipids which have been observed in other tissues were detected in the bovine retina, although some striking differences were seen in their relative distribution. Although short-term incubations (up to 15 min) indicated that the major species was the fully glucosylated oligosaccharide-lipid (Glc3Man9GlcNAc2), with longer incubation times the non-glucose-containing intermediate, Man9GlcNAc2, became the predominant species. Since glycerol was the carbon source for these incubations, the possibility was investigated that glucose starvation may have been the basis for this phenomenon, as has been reported in other tissues. It was established that this was not the case. Experiments carried out in the presence of castanospermine and bromoconduritol indicated that alpha-glucosidase activity in the retina may have resulted in the accumulation of the unglucosylated oligosaccharide-lipids. The formation of oligosaccharide-lipid intermediates by cells of the retinal pigment epithelium from the embryonic chick, maintained in cell culture, was also examined. In contrast to the bovine retina, the major species present were the glucose-containing intermediates, similar to other tissues.