Biological Functions of Glycosyltransferase Genes Involved in O-fucose Glycan Synthesis

T Okajima, A Matsuura, T Matsuda - Journal of biochemistry, 2008 - academic.oup.com
T Okajima, A Matsuura, T Matsuda
Journal of biochemistry, 2008academic.oup.com
Rare types of glycosylation often occur in a domain-specific manner and are involved in
specific biological processes. Well-known examples of such modification are O-linked
fucose (O-fucose) and O-linked glucose (O-glucose) glycans on epidermal growth factor
(EGF) domains. In particular, O-fucose glycans are reported to regulate the functions of EGF
domain-containing proteins such as urinary-type plasminogen activator and Notch
receptors. Two glycosyltransferases catalyze the initiation and elongation of O-fucose …
Abstract
Rare types of glycosylation often occur in a domain-specific manner and are involved in specific biological processes. Well-known examples of such modification are O-linked fucose (O-fucose) and O-linked glucose (O-glucose) glycans on epidermal growth factor (EGF) domains. In particular, O-fucose glycans are reported to regulate the functions of EGF domain-containing proteins such as urinary-type plasminogen activator and Notch receptors. Two glycosyltransferases catalyze the initiation and elongation of O-fucose glycans. The initiation process is catalyzed by O-fucosyltransferase 1, which is essential for Notch signalling in both Drosophila and mice. O-fucosyltransferase 1 can affect the folding, ligand interaction and endocytosis of Notch receptors, and both the glycosyltransferase and non-catalytic activities of O-fucosyltransferase 1 have been reported. The elongation of O-fucose monosaccharide is catalyzed by Fringe-related genes, which differentially modulate the interaction between Notch and two classes of ligands, namely, Delta and Serrate/Jagged. In this article, we have reviewed the recent reports addressing the distinctive features of the glycosyltransferases and O-glycans present on the EGF domains.
Oxford University Press