Abstract
GDP-mannose (GDP-Man) is a key metabolite essential for protein glycosylation and glycophosphatidylinositol anchor synthesis, and aberrant cellular GDP-Man levels have been associated with multiple human diseases. How cells maintain homeostasis of GDP-Man is unknown. Here, we report the cryo-EM structures of human GMPPA–GMPPB complex, the protein machinery responsible for GDP-Man synthesis, in complex with GDP-Man or GTP. Unexpectedly, we find that the catalytically inactive subunit GMPPA displays a much higher affinity to GDP-Man than the active subunit GMPPB and, subsequently, inhibits the catalytic activity of GMPPB through a unique C-terminal loop of GMPPA. Importantly, disruption of the interactions between GMPPA and GMPPB or the binding of GDP-Man to GMPPA in zebrafish leads to abnormal brain development and muscle abnormality, analogous to phenotypes observed in individuals carrying GMPPA or GMPPB mutations. We conclude that GMPPA acts as a cellular sensor to maintain mannose homeostasis through allosterically regulating GMPPB.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
SCGN deficiency is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy Open Access 02 January 2023
-
Structural insights into selective inhibition of leishmanial GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase
Cell Discovery Open Access 30 August 2022
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$189.00 per year
only $15.75 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout







Data availability
Structural data of GMPPA/GMPPB bound to GDP-Man and GTP are deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) under accession nos. 7D72 (GDP-Man), 7D73 (state I) and 7D74 (state II), respectively. The cryo-EM maps are deposited in the Electron Microscopy Data Bank with accession codes 30599 (GDP-Man), 30600 (state I) and 30601 (state II), respectively. All other data are available from the authors on reasonable request. Source data are provided with this paper.
References
Efeyan, A., Comb, W. C. & Sabatini, D. M. Nutrient-sensing mechanisms and pathways. Nature 517, 302–310 (2015).
Gonzalez, A., Hall, M. N., Lin, S. C. & Hardie, D. G. AMPK and TOR: the Yin and Yang of cellular nutrient sensing and growth control. Cell Metab. 31, 472–492 (2020).
Li, X. et al. Structural basis of AMPK regulation by adenine nucleotides and glycogen. Cell Res. 25, 50–66 (2015).
Xiao, B. et al. Structure of mammalian AMPK and its regulation by ADP. Nature 472, 230–233 (2011).
Sun, Q. et al. Structural and functional insights into sorting nexin 5/6 interaction with bacterial effector IncE. Signal Transduct. Target Ther. 2, 17030 (2017).
Hirayama, H. & Suzuki, T. GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase A,B (GMPPA,B). In Handbook of Glycosyltransferases and Related Genes (eds Taniguchi, N. et al.) 1599–1606 (Springer, 2014).
Sharma, V., Ichikawa, M. & Freeze, H. H. Mannose metabolism: more than meets the eye. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 453, 220–228 (2014).
Conklin, P. L. et al. Genetic evidence for the role of GDP-mannose in plant ascorbic acid (vitamin C) biosynthesis. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 4198–4203 (1999).
Warit, S. et al. Glycosylation deficiency phenotypes resulting from depletion of GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase in two yeast species. Mol. Microbiol. 36, 1156–1166 (2000).
Barth, C., Gouzd, Z. A., Steele, H. P. & Imperio, R. M. A mutation in GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase causes conditional hypersensitivity to ammonium, resulting in Arabidopsis root growth inhibition, altered ammonium metabolism and hormone homeostasis. J. Exp. Bot. 61, 379–394 (2010).
Koehler, K. et al. Mutations in GMPPA cause a glycosylation disorder characterized by intellectual disability and autonomic dysfunction. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 93, 727–734 (2013).
Carss, K. J. et al. Mutations in GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase B cause congenital and limb-girdle muscular dystrophies associated with hypoglycosylation of α-dystroglycan. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 93, 29–41 (2013).
Freeze, H. H., Chong, J. X., Bamshad, M. J. & Ng, B. G. Solving glycosylation disorders: fundamental approaches reveal complicated pathways. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 94, 161–175 (2014).
Matthijs, G. et al. Mutations in PMM2, a phosphomannomutase gene on chromosome 16p13, in carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein type I syndrome (Jaeken syndrome). Nat. Genet. 16, 88–92 (1997).
Jaeken, J. et al. Phosphomannose isomerase deficiency: a carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome with hepatic-intestinal presentation. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 62, 1535–1539 (1998).
Ning, B. & Elbein, A. D. Cloning, expression and characterization of the pig liver GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase. Evidence that GDP-mannose and GDP-Glc pyrophosphorylases are different proteins. Eur. J. Biochem. 267, 6866–6874 (2000).
Szumilo, T., Drake, R. R., York, J. L. & Elbein, A. D. GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase. Purification to homogeneity, properties and utilization to prepare photoaffinity analogs. J. Biol. Chem. 268, 17943–17950 (1993).
Pelissier, M. C., Lesley, S. A., Kuhn, P. & Bourne, Y. Structural insights into the catalytic mechanism of bacterial guanosine-diphospho-d-mannose pyrophosphorylase and its regulation by divalent ions. J. Biol. Chem. 285, 27468–27476 (2010).
Raetz, C. R. H. & Roderick, S. L. A left-handed parallel β-helix in the structure of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine acyltransferase. Science 270, 997–1000 (1995).
Descoteaux, A., Luo, Y., Turco, S. J. & Beverley, S. M. A specialized pathway affecting virulence glycoconjugates of Leishmania. Science 269, 1869–1872 (1995).
Ning, B. & Elbein, A. D. Purification and properties of mycobacterial GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 362, 339–345 (1999).
Nakajima, K. et al. Simultaneous determination of nucleotide sugars with ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC. Glycobiology 20, 865–871 (2010).
Harada, Y. et al. Metabolically programmed quality control system for dolichol-linked oligosaccharides. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 19366–19371 (2013).
Rush, J. S., Panneerselvam, K., Waechter, C. J. & Freeze, H. H. Mannose supplementation corrects GDP-mannose deficiency in cultured fibroblasts from some patients with congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). Glycobiology 10, 829–835 (2000).
Sun, L. et al. Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy due to GMPPB mutations: a case report and comprehensive literature review. Bosn. J. Basic Med. Sci. 20, 275–280 (2020).
Diaz, J., Kane, T. D. & Leon, E. Evidence of GMPPA founder mutation in indigenous Guatemalan population associated with alacrima, achalasia and mental retardation syndrome. Am. J. Med. Genet. A 182, 425–430 (2020).
Huang, W. et al. Structural and functional studies of TBC1D23 C-terminal domain provide a link between endosomal trafficking and PCH. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 22598–22608 (2019).
Qin, J. et al. Structural and mechanistic insights into secretagogin-mediated exocytosis. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 6559–6570 (2020).
Arkhipova, V. et al. Characterization and regulation of the hb9/mnx1 β-cell progenitor specific enhancer in zebrafish. Dev. Biol. 365, 290–302 (2012).
Kaslin, J. et al. Stem cells in the adult zebrafish cerebellum: initiation and maintenance of a novel stem cell niche. J. Neurosci. 29, 6142–6153 (2009).
Becker, D. J. & Lowe, J. B. Fucose: biosynthesis and biological function in mammals. Glycobiology 13, 41R–53R (2003).
Sharma, V. & Freeze, H. H. Mannose efflux from the cells: a potential source of mannose in blood. J. Biol. Chem. 286, 10193–10200 (2011).
Mastronarde, D. N. Automated electron microscope tomography using robust prediction of specimen movements. J. Struct. Biol. 152, 36–51 (2005).
Zheng, S. Q. et al. MotionCor2: anisotropic correction of beam-induced motion for improved cryo-electron microscopy. Nat. Methods 14, 331–332 (2017).
Zhang, K. Gctf: real-time CTF determination and correction. J. Struct. Biol. 193, 1–12 (2016).
Zivanov, J. et al. New tools for automated high-resolution cryo-EM structure determination in RELION-3. Elife 7, e42166 (2018).
Emsley, P., Lohkamp, B., Scott, W. G. & Cowtan, K. Features and development of Coot. Acta Crystallogr. D Biol. Crystallogr. 66, 486–501 (2010).
Pettersen, E. F. et al. UCSF chimera—a visualization system for exploratory research and analysis. J. Comput. Chem. 25, 1605–1612 (2004).
Adams, P. D. et al. PHENIX: a comprehensive Python-based system for macromolecular structure solution. Acta Crystallogr. D Struct. Biol. 66, 213–221 (2010).
Chen, V. B. et al. MolProbity: all-atom structure validation for macromolecular crystallography. Acta Crystallogr. D Struct. Biol. 66, 12–21 (2010).
Liu, D. et al. Structure of TBC1D23 N-terminus reveals a novel role for rhodanese domain. PLoS Biol. 18, e3000746 (2020).
Yao, J. et al. Mechanism of inhibition of retromer transport by the bacterial effector RidL. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 115, E1446–E1454 (2018).
Mao, L. et al. Phosphorylation of SNX27 by MAPK11/14 links cellular stress-signaling pathways with endocytic recycling. J. Cell Biol. 220, e202010048 (2021).
Tsay, F. R. et al. Generic anion-exchange chromatography method for analytical and preparative separation of nucleotides in the development and manufacture of drug substances. J. Chromatogr. A 1587, 129–135 (2019).
Mao, W. et al. Biochemical analysis of leishmanial and human GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylases and selection of inhibitors as new leads. Sci. Rep. 7, 751 (2017).
Jia, D. et al. Structural and mechanistic insights into regulation of the retromer coat by TBC1d5. Nat. Commun. 7, 13305 (2016).
Link, V., Shevchenko, A. & Heisenberg, C. P. Proteomics of early zebrafish embryos. BMC Dev. Biol. 6, 1 (2006).
Garcia, A. D., Chavez, J. L. & Mechref, Y. Sugar nucleotide quantification using multiple reaction monitoring liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 27, 1794–1800 (2013).
Robu, M. E. et al. p53 activation by knockdown technologies. PLoS Genet. 3, e78 (2007).
Acknowledgements
We thank the Core Facilities of Peking University School of Life Sciences for assistance with negative-staining electron microscopy; the Cryo-EM Platform of Peking University and the Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Peking University for cryo-EM data collection; and the High-performance Computing Platform of Peking University for help with computation. The studies were supported by the National Science Foundation of China (grants 31725007 and 31630087 to N.G., and 91854121 and 31871429 to D.J.), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grants 2019YFA0508904 to N.G. and 2018YFC1005004 to D.J.), Sichuan Science and Technology Program (grant 2018RZ0128 to D.J.) and the Qidong-SLS Innovation Fund (to N.G.).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Y.W. generated protein samples for EM analysis and performed biochemical work with assistance from W.H., M.T. and J.Q. F.Y. and J.W. performed cellular studies. L.Z. performed cryo-EM data acquisition and data processing. L.Z. and N.G. built and refined the model. Z.L. carried out zebrafish studies, X.C. determined GDP-Man concentration and X.L. and X.M. provided technical assistance. L.Z., N.G. and D.J. wrote the manuscript. N.G. and D.J. supervised the project.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Peer review information Nature Structural & Molecular Biology thanks Jon Agirre, Hudson Freeze and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available. Beth Moorefield was the primary editor on this article and managed its editorial process and peer review in collaboration with the rest of the editorial team.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Extended data
Extended Data Fig. 1 Purification and biochemical analysis of the GMPPA/GMPPB complex purified from sf9 cells.
a, Left: Elution profile of the GMPPA/GMPPB complex from gel filtration chromatography. Proteins were concentrated to 1 ml, and separated by a Superdex 200 gel filtration column (GE Healthcare), with an elution buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0, 200 mM NaCl, 1 mM DTT, 10% (v/v) glycerol, 0.02 % DDM). The size of GMPPA/GMPPB in solution was determined by fitting the calibration curve on the right. Right: standardization of the same size exclusion column. Thyroglobulin (670 KDa), γ-globulin (158 KDa), Ovalbumin (44 KDa), and Myoglobin (17 KDa) were eluted under the exact same conditions as GMPPA/GMPPB. b, Coomassie blue stained SDS-PAGE gels of samples after gel filtration chromatography in (a). A representative gel obtained from one out of three independent experiments was shown. Numbers representing elution volume. c, Formation of GDP-Man using GTP and man-1-p as substrates at different time points, in the presence of GMPPB or GMPPA/GMPPB. d, Formation of GTP using GDP-Man and PPi as substrates at different time points, in the presence of GMPPB or GMPPA/GMPPB. e, Formation of GDP-Man using GTP and man-1-p as substrates under different conditions, in the presence of GMPPA/GMPPB. Data shown in c, d, and e represent mean ± s.d. of 3 biologically independent experiments.
Extended Data Fig. 2 Cryo-EM image processing of GMPPA/GMPPB complex bound to GDP-Man.
a, A representative raw cryo-EM image. b, Representative two-dimensional class averages of the GMPPA/GMPPB particles bound to GDP-Man. c, Image-processing workflow, including 3D classification, structural refinement, masked-based refinement, CTF refinement and Bayesian polishing. d, Gold-standard FSC curve of the cryo-EM map. e, Final local resolution estimation of the density map.
Extended Data Fig. 3 Cryo-EM image processing of GMPPA/GMPPB complex bound to GTP.
a, A representative raw cryo-EM image. b, Representative two-dimensional class averages of the GMPPA/GMPPB particles bound to GTP. c, Image-processing workflow of the GMPPA/GMPPB particles bound to GTP. d, Gold-standard FSC curve of the final density maps of both state I (orange) and state II (sky blue). e, Final local resolution estimation of the cryo-EM maps of state I (left) and state II (right).
Extended Data Fig. 4 Sequence alignment of GMPPA and GMPPB subunits from different species.
Alignment of GMPPA and GMPPB sequences from Homo sapiens, Danio rerio and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The sequence is numbered according to the GMPPA sequence of Homo sapiens.
Extended Data Fig. 5 Structural comparison GMPPA, GMPPB and their bacterial homologs.
a, Comparison between different conformations of GMPPA subunits. The left panel shows the structures of A1 and A2. A1 and A2 are coloured blue and blown, respectively. The right panel is the superimposition of A1 and A2 and the difference between two structures are highlighted red in A2. b, Magnified view of the boxed region in panel a for the A1 conformation. c, Magnified view of the boxed region in panel a for the A2 conformation. d, Superimposition of four GMPPB subunits (B1, B2, B3, B4). The loop between β7 and β8 display up to 5 Å shift. In the conformation of B1, this loop interacts with the C-loop of GMPPA1. e, Structural comparison of GMPPA/GMPPB heterodimer and T. maritima GMP homodimer (PDB: 2X5Z). f, Structures of GMPPB (left upper); ST0452N-Acetylglucosamine-1-Phosphate Uridyltransferase (PDB: 5Z0A) from Sulfurisphaera tokodaii (right upper); glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase (PDB: 2GGO) from Sulfurisphaera tokodaii (left bottom). Structural comparison of the three proteins (right bottom). g, Diagrams of domain organization of GMPPA and GMPPB. The β strands and α helices are represented as arrows and cylinders, respectively.
Extended Data Fig. 6 Detail interactions of type I and type III interfaces.
a, Detail interactions of type I interface between GMPPB subunits. Detail interactions of type I interface between A1 and A2, which is largely mediated by hydrophobic and hydrophobic interactions (left). b, Detail interactions of type III interface. The N-loops are shown in red dash line. c,d, The indicated GST-tagged GMPPA (c) or GMPPB (d) constructs and HA-GMPPA-WT (left) or HA-GMPPB-WT (right) were co-transfected in HEK293T cells. Total cell lysates were precipitated with glutathione-Sepharose beads. Bound samples were analyzed by immunoblotting using antibodies against GST and HA. Shown are representative gels from three biologically independent experiments.
Extended Data Fig. 7 Determination of GMPPB and GMPPA/GMPPB complex kinetic constants.
a, Lineweaver Burk double reciprocal plots 1/V = f(1/[GTP]) of GMPPB and GMPPA/GMPPB complex. The forward reactions were performed at 37 °C for 4 minutes. The enzyme activities were analyzed with a range of GTP concentrations (7.5~150 μM) and a fixed Man-1-P concentration (150 μM). b, Lineweaver Burk double reciprocal plots 1/V = f(1/[man-1-P]) of GMPPB and GMPPA/GMPPB complex. Reactions were performed at 37 °C for 4 minutes, similar to a. The enzyme activities were analyzed with a range of Man-1-P concentrations (7.5~150 μM) and a fixed GTP concentration (150 μM). c, Lineweaver Burk double reciprocal plots 1/V = f(1/[GDP-man]) of GMPPB and GMPPA/GMPPB complex. The reverse reactions were performed at 37 °C for 5 minutes. The enzyme activities were analyzed with a range of GDP-Man concentrations (7.5~150 μM) and a fixed PPi concentration (150 μM). d, Kinetic constants (Km, Kcat, Kcat /Km) of GMPPB and GMPPA/B complex for Man-1-P, GTP, and GDP-Man. e, Effect of GDP-Man on the initial velocity (V0) of GMPPB and GMPPA/GMPPB. Reactions containing 2 μM GMPPB or 10 μM GMPPA/GMPPB, 150 μM GTP, 150 μM man-1-P, and a range of GDP-Man concentrations (0~320 μM), were carried out at 37 °C for 4 minutes. The reactions were then terminated, and the amount of PPi produced was determined. The V0 at each GDP-Man concentration was normalized against V0, 0 (V0 in the absence of GDP-Man). Data shown in a, b, c, and e represent mean ± s.d. of 3 biologically independent experiments.
Extended Data Fig. 8 Depletion of GMPPA in HEK293T cells increased GDP-mannose level.
a, HEK293T cells were lentiviral transduced with a vector encoding shRNA sequence against GMPPA (shPPA) or an control vector (shControl). Two cell sublines with different knock-down effects were selected, shPPA1 and shPPA2. The levels of GMPPA and GADPH were analyzed by immunoblotting. b, Chromatographic separation and measurement of GDP-hexose by HPLC-MS/MS. Pure GDP-mannose and GDP-fucose were used as standards. c, GDP-mannose amount in 1 × 106 HEK293T shControl and shPPA1/2 cells. d, GDP-mannose concentrations calculated from data in (c). Data shown in c and d represent mean ± s.d. of 3 biologically independent experiments.
Extended Data Fig. 9 Depletion of GMPPA and GMPBB in zebrafish embryos.
a, Gmppb (left) and gmppa (right) protein levels in control and morphant embryos at 1 dpf. Embryos that were injected with control mo (Control, 5 ng), gmppb mo (5 ng) + p53 mo (5 ng) (PPB-MO), or gmppa mo1 (2.5 ng) + mo2 (2.5 ng) + p53 mo (5 ng) (PPA-MO) at the stage of one cell. GAPDH was used as a control for protein amount. b-e, Embryos were injected with control mo (Control, 5 ng), gmppb mo (5 ng) + p53 mo (5 ng) (PPB-MO), gmppb mo (5 ng) + p53 mo (5 ng)+ GDP-Man (1 fmol/embryo) (PPB-MO + GDP-Man), and then analyzed for GDP-Man amount (b), glycosylation pattern (c), and Sox2 expression (d), at 3 hpf. For experiments in b and c, yolk was removed before analysis. c. Glycosylation was determined by biotinylated Lens culinaris lectin (LCA), followed by detection with streptavidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase. d. SOX2 expression was determined by real-time PCR. Data in b and d represents mean ± s.d. of 3 biologically independent experiments. Results were evaluated by two-tailed unpaired t tests (**P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; ****P < 0.0001; NS, not significant). e, Different doses of GDP-Man from 0 fmol to 20,000 fmol was injected into zebrafish embryos, and number of live and dead embryos at 1 dpf were recorded. ‘n’ represents the number of zebrafish embryos per group. f, Tg [hb9: GFP]ml2 transgenic zebrafish was treated as in (e), and the length of CaP motor neurons was analyzed. Representative blots obtained from one out of three independent experiments were shown in a and c.
Supplementary information
Source data
Source Data Fig. 3
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Fig. 4
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 4
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Fig. 5
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 5
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Fig. 6
Statistical source data.
Source Data Fig. 6
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Fig. 7
Statistical source data.
Source Data Extended Data Fig. 6
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Extended Data Fig. 8
Statistical source data.
Source Data Extended Data Fig. 8
Unprocessed western blots.
Source Data Extended Data Fig. 9
Statistical source data.
Source Data Extended Data Fig. 9
Unprocessed western blots.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zheng, L., Liu, Z., Wang, Y. et al. Cryo-EM structures of human GMPPA–GMPPB complex reveal how cells maintain GDP-mannose homeostasis. Nat Struct Mol Biol 28, 1–12 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-021-00591-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-021-00591-9
This article is cited by
-
SCGN deficiency is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2023)
-
Structural insights into selective inhibition of leishmanial GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase
Cell Discovery (2022)
-
Clinical and Molecular Spectrum of Muscular Dystrophies (MDs) with Intellectual Disability (ID): a Comprehensive Overview
Journal of Molecular Neuroscience (2022)
-
Genetic pain loss disorders
Nature Reviews Disease Primers (2022)