Phosphorylation and sulfation of arylsulfatase A accompanies biosynthesis of the enzyme in normal and carcinoma cell lines.

Arylsulfatase A (arylsulfate sulfohydrolase, EC 3.1.6.1), a mammalian lysosomal enzyme, is initially synthesized as a 69, 67 and 64 kDa precursor polypeptide in a prostate carcinoma cell line PC-3SF12, in HeLa cells and in a normal human embryonic lung cell line WI-38, respectively. These precursor polypeptides are secreted into the medium or processed to mature enzymes of apparent molecular mass 66, 64 or 62 kDa in PC-3SF12, HeLa or WI-38 cells, respectively. The precursor and mature polypeptides in WI-38 cells are phosphorylated, and the phosphate is lost upon treatment with endo-beta-hexosaminidase H. Arylsulfatase A is also shown to be sulfated in WI-38 cells. The presence of castanospermine, an inhibitor of sulfation of the second N-acetylglucosamine residue of the chitobiose core, does not reduce the extent of sulfation of arylsulfatase A, suggesting that either terminal sugars or the protein is sulfated. Sulfation may have a protective function similar to that of terminal sialic acid residues in glycoproteins. Although the subcellular location of arylsulfatase A is identical in PC-3SF12 and in WI-38 cells, pulse-chase experiments indicate that arylsulfatase A protein has a slower turnover in the prostate carcinoma cell line than it does in the normal human lung cell line. The differences in the apparent molecular weights of arylsulfatase A in the normal and carcinoma cell lines are shown to be due to variations in the carbohydrate content of the enzyme. The apparent molecular mass of the polypeptide chain obtained after endo-beta-hexosaminidase H treatment is 59 kDa, a value which is identical for all three cell lines studied here. These results suggest the possibility of an enhanced activity of terminal glucosyltransferase enzymes in carcinoma cell lines and in tumor tissues. Arylsulfatase A may be a useful marker for studying transformation-related processes in human cell lines.