• Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.65-67
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• 2004

O-GlcNAcylation of p53 has been already identified and reported, but the function of O-GlcNAc on p53 has not been studied well. In this report, the general function of O-GlcNAc modification on p53 has been investigated using mouse fibroblast cell, L929. When streptozotocin (STZ), a non-competitive O-GlcNAcase inhibitor was treated to L929, O-GlcNAc modification level was dramatically increased on nucleocytoplasmic proteins, including p53. Because it has been already reported that $TNF\alpha$ induced the production of p53 in L929, $TNF\alpha$ was treated to obtain more p53. Approximately two times more amount of p53 was found from the cells treated STZ and $TNF\alpha$ simultaneously compared to the cell treated $TNF\alpha$ alone. The p53 increment in the presence of STZ was not caused by the induction of p53 gene expression. When new production of p53 induced by the $TNF\alpha$ was inhibited by the treatment of cycloheximide, O-GlcNAc modification decreased and phosphorylation increased on pre-existing p53 after $TNF\alpha$ treatment. But in the presence of STZ and $TNF\alpha$ at the same time, more O-GlcNAcylation occurred on p53, The level of ubiquitination on p53 was also reduced in the presence of STZ. Approximately three times less amount of Mdm2 bound to this hyperglycosylated p53. From this result it might be concluded that treatment of STZ to inhibit O-GlcNAcase increased O-GlcNAc modification level on p53 and the increment of O-GlcNAc modification stabilized p53 from ubiquitin proteolysis system.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.198-202
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• 2004

Hydrogen bond is an important factor in the structures of carbohydrates. Because of great strength, short range, and strong angular dependence, hydrogen bonding is an important factor stabilizing the structure of carbohydrate. In this study, conformational properties and the hydrogen bonds in GlcNAc( ${\beta}$1,3)Gal(${\beta}$)OMe in DMSO are investigated through NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. Lowest energy structure in the adiabatic energy map was utilized as an initial structure for the molecular dynamics simulations in DMSO. NOEs, temperature coefficients, SIMPLE NMR data, and molecular dynamics simulations proved that there is a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond between O7' and HO3' in GlcNAc( ${\beta}$1,3)Gal(${\beta}$)OMe in DMSO. In aqueous solution, water molecule makes intermolecular hydrogen bonds with the disaccharides and there was no intramolecular hydrogen bonds in water. Since DMSO molecule is too big to be inserted deep into GlcNAc(${\beta}$1,3)Gal(${\beta}$)OMe, DMSO can not make strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding with carbohydrate and increases the ability of O7' in GlcNAc(${\beta}$1,3)Gal(${\beta}$)OMe to participate in intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Molecular dynamics simulation in conjunction with NMR experiments proves to be efficient way to investigate the intramolecular hydrogen bonding existed in carbohydrate.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1062-1066
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• 2009

N-Acetylglucosamine kinase (GlcNAc kinase or NAGK; EC 2.7.1.59) catalyzes the phosphorylation of GlcNAc to GlcNAc-6-phosphate (GlcNAc-6-P). Despite detailed characterization of the enzyme itself, there have been few studies on the expression of NAGK in mammalian tissues. In the rat hippocampal neuron in culture, NAGK-immunoreactivity (IR) formed clusters in somatodendritic domains. In this study we characterized the NAGK clusters that protrude out the long axis of dendritic shafts. By double-labeling of the neurons with antibodies against NAGK and various synaptic proteins, we show that NAGK is positioned at the base of spines, while there were no NAGK protrusions into inhibitory postsynaptic sites. Immunoblot analysis showed that NAGK was included in synaptosomes but not in PSD fractions. Our results indicate that the NAGK clusters at the dendritic periphery protrude into spines.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.322-329
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• 2014

N-acetylglucosamine kinase (GlcNAc kinase or NAGK; EC 2.7.1.59) is highly expressed and plays a critical role in the development of dendrites in brain neurons. In this study, the authors conducted structure-function analysis to verify the previously proposed 3D model structure of GlcNAc/ATP-bound NAGK. Three point NAGK mutants with different substrate binding capacities and reaction velocities were produced. Wild-type (WT) NAGK showed strong substrate preference for GlcNAc. Conversion of Cys143, which does not make direct hydrogen bonds with GlcNAc, to Ser (i.e., C143S) had the least affect on the enzymatic activity of NAGK. Conversion of Asn36, which plays a role in domain closure by making a hydrogen bond with GlcNAc, to Ala (i.e., N36A) mildly reduced NAGK enzyme activity. Conversion of Asp107, which makes hydrogen bonds with GlcNAc and would act as a proton acceptor during nucleophilic attack on the ${\gamma}$-phosphate of ATP, to Ala (i.e., D107A), caused a total loss in enzyme activity. The overexpression of EGFP-tagged WT or any of the mutant NAGKs in rat hippocampal neurons (DIV 5-9) increased dendritic architectural complexity. Finally, the overexpression of the small, but not of the large, domain of NAGK resulted in dendrite degeneration. Our data show the effect of structure on the functional aspects of NAGK, and in particular, that the small domain of NAGK, and not its NAGK kinase activity, plays a critical role in the upregulation of dendritogenesis.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.501-505
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• 2021

The pathogenic free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, a fatal infection, by penetrating the nasal mucosa and migrating to the brain via the olfactory nerves. N. fowleri can induce host cell death via lytic necrosis. Similar to phosphorylation, O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) glycosylation (O-GlcNAcylation) is involved in various cell-signaling processes, including apoptosis and proliferation, with O-GlcNAc addition and removal regulated by O-GlcNAc transferase and O-GlcNAcase (OGA), respectively. However, the detailed mechanism of host cell death induced by N. fowleri is unknown. In this study, we investigated whether N. fowleri can induce the modulation of O-GlcNAcylated proteins during cell death in Jurkat T cells. Co-incubation with live N. fowleri trophozoites increased DNA fragmentation. In addition, incubation with N. fowleri induced a dramatic reduction in O-GlcNAcylated protein levels in 30 min. Moreover, pretreatment of Jurkat T cells with the OGA inhibitor PUGNAc prevented N. fowleri-induced O-deGlcNAcylation and DNA fragmentation. These results suggest that O-deGlcNAcylation is an important signaling process that occurs during Jurkat T cell death induced by N. fowleri.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.232-239
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• 1992

UDP_GlcNAc is metabolized to form vegetative cell wall, cortical peptidoglycans, and outermost layer consisting of galactosamine-6-phosphate ploysaccharide in life cycle of Bacillus megaterium. To obtain a better understanding of the UDP-GlcNAc regulation, we examined the activity of the common first enzyme for the synthesis of nucleotide precursors of peptidoglycans, enoylpyruvate transferase by newly developed method. Both the specific and the total activity decreased after the end of exponential growth followed by and increase from t5 but decreased again parallel to the appearance of the activity of UDP_GlcNAc-4-epimerase. Antibody specificity to anti-transferase IgG and the elution profile on DEAE-Sepharose revealed that B. megaterium has at least two enoylpyruvate transferase isozymes, and UDP_GlcNAc was metabolized to vegetative cell wall and cortical peptidoglycan by each isozme in exponential growth and in sporulation, respectively in life cycle.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.1315-1319
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• 2008

A trisaccharide, 6d-Altro-Hepp$\alpha$ (1$\rightarrow$3) GlcNAc$\beta$ (1$\rightarrow$3) Gal$\alpha$ (1$\rightarrow$$OCH_2CH_2N_3$, as an O-antigenic repeating unit of Campylobacter jejuni serotypes O:23 and O:36, was synthesized. Coupling of the 6d-altro-Hepp$\alpha$ (1$\rightarrow$3) GlcNAc$\beta$ (1$\rightarrow$SEt donor with Gal$\alpha$ (1${\rightarrow}OCH_2CH_2Cl$ acceptor in the presence of NIS-TfOH promoter afforded the trisaccharide having the $\beta$ (1$\rightarrow$3) Gal linkage. $\beta$ -Stereospecificity and the desired regioselectivity for the 3-OH Gal are obtained. Subsequent hydrogenation, acetylation, azide displacement, hydrazinolysis, Nacetylation, and finally deacetylation furnished the title trisaccharide hapten for further glycoconjugation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.415-424
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• 1997

Conformational flexibilities of the GlcNAc(β1,3)Gal(β)OMe are investigated through NMR spectroscopy and molecular modeling. Adiabatic energy map generated with a dielectric constant of 50 contains three local minima. All of the molecular dynamics simulations on three local minimum energy structures show fluctuations between two low energy structures, N2 at φ=80° and ψ=60° and N3 at φ=60° and ψ=-40°. We have presented adequate evidences to state that GlcNAc(β1,3)Gal(β)OMe exists in two conformationally discrete forms. Two state model of N2 and N3 conformers with a population ratio of 40:60 is used to calculate the effective cross relaxation rate and reproduces the experimental NOEs very well. Molecular dynamics simulation in conjunction with two state model proves successfully the dynamic equilibrium existed in GlcNAc(β1,3)Gal(β)OMe and can be considered as a powerful method to analyze the motional properties in the structure of carbohydrate. This observation also cautions against the indiscriminate use of a rigid model to analyze NMR data.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 2004

Protein modification by N-acetyl-${\beta}$-D-glucosamine (O-G1cNAc) on the hydroxyl groups of Ser or Thr ubiq-uitously occurs in eukaryotic cells and is involved in many cellular phenomena. The level of O-G1cNAc-mod-ified protein is regulated by OGT and O-GlcNAcase enzymes. We have tried to produce recombinant O-GlcNAcase in E. coli as an effort to establish in vitro screening system for modulators of O-GlcNAcase. The culture conditions for improvement of O-GlcNAcase productivity, were as follows: induction temperature, $30^{\circ}C$; the concentration of L-arabinose, 0.02% and induction time, 5 hr. Under these culture conditions, E. coli cells containing O-GlcNAcase gene had no enzyme activity until up to 3 hr culture. However, O-GlcNAcase activity dramatically increased from 3 to 5 hr culture. It almost maintained the same level after 5 hr culture. Western blot analysis verified the amount of expressed O-GlcNAcase increased with culture time, being con-sistent with activity data. The optimal reaction condition determined in this study was as follows: protein quan-tity, $5{\mu}g$; reaction time, 30 min; reaction temperature, $45^{\circ}C$; substrate concentration, 2 mM; reaction pH, 6.5. Methanol had little effect on O-GlcNAcase activity and 90% of activity were retained at 10%. Only 15% resid-ual activity were detected at 5% of chloroform.

• BMB Reports
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 1997

Two kinds of cDNA encoding mouse $Gal{\beta}$1,3(4)GlcNAc ${\alpha}$2,3-sialyltransferase (mST3Gal III) and $Gal{\beta}$1,4(3)GlcNAc ${\alpha}$2,3-sialyltransferase (mST3Gal IV) were isolated from mouse brain cDNA library by means of a PCR-based approach. The cDNA sequences included an open reading frame coding for proteins of 374 and 333 amino acids, respectively, and the primary structure of these enzymes suggested a putative domain structure consisting of four regions, like that in other glycosyltransferases. The deduced amino acid sequences of mST3GaI III and IV showed a 98% and 89% identity with rat ST3GaI III and human ST3Gal IV, respectively. Northern analysis indicated that the expression of mST3Gal III mRNA was abundant in heart, liver and adult brain, while that of mST3GaI IV mRNA was detected in all tissues tested except for testis, but the level was the highest in liver. Soluble forms of mST3GaI III and IV transiently expressed in COS cells exhibited enzyme activity toward acceptor substrates containing the terminal either $Gal{\beta}$1,3GlcNAc or $Gal{\beta}$1,4GlcNAc sequences. The substrate preferences of both enzymes were stronger for tetrasaccharides than for disaccharides.