Characterization of the mannose 6-phosphate-dependent pathway of lysosomal enzyme routing in an invertebrate

The mannose 6-phosphate (Man6P)-dependent pathway for routing lysosomal enzymes was characterized in the hepatopancreas of the estuary crab Chasmagnatus granulata: (a) an acid alpha-L-fucosidase was purified to homogeneity from the above-mentioned organ and was shown to contain mannose-linked phosphate residues; (b) high-mannose-type oligosaccharides isolated from a protein fraction enriched in acid hydrolases were found to contain acid-labile N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues; (c) a membrane-bound UDP-GlcNAc:lysosomal enzyme GlcNAc-1-phosphotransferase was detected that phosphorylated the estuary-crab alpha-L-fucosidase and bovine uteroferrin but not bovine pancreas ribonuclease B; (d) a GlcNAc-1-phosphodiester alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase that released GlcNAc units from GlcNAc alpha 1-P6Man alpha 1-methyl was detected in microsomal membranes of the hepatopancreas; (e) two detergent-solubilized microsomal proteins having molecular masses of 205 and 215 kDa that were retained by a Man6P-rich mannan-Sepharose column, from where they were eluted with Man6P but not with glucose 6-phosphate, were recognized by antisera raised against bovine large (215 kDa) and small (46 kDa) Man6P receptors. This is the first description of all the components of the Man6P-dependent mechanism for routing lysosomal enzymes in an invertebrate.