Abstract
Human lysosomal enzymes acid-β-glucosidase (GCase) and acid-α-galactosidase (α-Gal A) hydrolyze, respectively, the sphingolipids glucosyl- and globotriaosyl- ceramide, and mutations in these enzymes lead to the lipid metabolism disorders Gaucher and Fabry disease. We have investigated the structure and stability of GCase and α-Gal A at the neutral-pH environment reflective of the endoplasmic reticulum and the acidic-pH environment reflective of the lysosome. These details are important for the development of pharmacological chaperone therapy for Gaucher and Fabry disease, in which small molecules bind mutant enzymes in the ER to enable the mutant enzyme to meet quality control requirements for lysosomal trafficking. We report crystal structures of apo GCase at pH 4.5, pH 5.5, and in complex with the pharmacological chaperone isofagomine (IFG) at pH 7.5. We also present thermostability analysis of GCase at pH 7.4 and pH 5.2 using differential scanning calorimetry. We compare our results with analogous experiments using α-Gal A and the chaperone 1-deoxygalactonijirimycin (DGJ), including the first structure of α-Gal A with DGJ. Both GCase and α-Gal A are more stable at lysosomal pH with and without their respective iminosugars bound, and notably, the GCase/IFG complex stability is pH sensitive. We show that the conformations of the active site loops in GCase are sensitive to ligand binding but not pH, whereas analogous galactose- or DGJ- dependent conformational changes in α-Gal A are not seen. Thermodynamic parameters obtained from α-Gal A unfolding indicate two-state, van't-Hoff unfolding in the absence of the iminosugar at neutral and lysosomal pH, and non two-state unfolding in the presence of DGJ. Taken together, these results provide insight into how GCase and α-Gal A are thermodynamically stabilized by iminosugars, and suggest strategies for the development of new pharmacological chaperones for lysosomal storage disorders.