• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.58 no.1
• /
• pp.9-11
• /
• 2015

Tissue extracts were prepared from liquid-cultured Arabidopsis and reacted with UDP-[$^3H$]-GlcNAc. Phospholipid fractions were then extracted by butanol partitioning. Consecutive thin-layer chromatography identified two glycolipids sensitive to PI-specific phospholipase C, known as early intermediates in glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor biosynthesis; phosphatidylinositol N-acetylglucosamine and phosphatidylinositol glucosamine.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.859-865
• /
• 2008

Bacterial glycosyltransferases have drawn growing attention as economical enzymes for oligosaccharide synthesis, with their easy expression and relatively broad substrate specificity. Here, we characterized a glycosyltransferase homolog (Fnu_GT) from a human oral pathogen, Fusobacterium nucleatum. Bioinformatic analysis showed that Fnu_GT belongs to the glycosyltransferases family II. The recombinant Fnu_GT (rFnu_GT) expressed in Escherichia coli displayed the highest glycosylation activity when UDP-galactose (Gal) was used as a donor nucleotide-sugar with heptose or N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) as an acceptor sugar. Interestingly, rFnu_GT transferred the galactose moiety of UDP-Gal to a nonreducing terminal GlcNAc attached to the trimannosyl core glycan, indicating its potential as an enzyme for human-type N-glycan synthesis.

• Journal of mucopolysaccharidosis and rare diseases
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.19-22
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Mucolipidosis type II (ML II), also known as I-cell disease is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of lysosomal enzyme transport caused by a deficiency of the uridine diphosphate (UDP)-N-acetylglucosamine:lysosomal enzyme N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase (GlcNAc-phosphotransferase). Clinical manifestations are skeletal abnormalities, mental retardation, cardiac disease, and respiratory complications. A severely and rapidity progressive clinical course leads to death before 10 years of age. Methods/Results: In this study we diagnosed three cases of prenatal ML II in two different at-risk families. We compared two procedures -biochemical analysis and molecular analysis - for the prenatal diagnosis of ML II. Both methods require an invasive procedure to obtain specimens for the diagnosis. Biochemical analysis requires obtaining cell cultures from amniotic fluid for more than two weeks, and would result in a late diagnosis at 19 to 22 weeks of gestation. Molecular genetic testing by direct sequence analysis is usually possible when mutations are confirmed in the proband. Molecular analysis has an advantage in that it can be performed during the first-trimester. Conclusion: Molecular diagnosis is a preferable method when a prompt decision is necessary.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.30 no.8
• /
• pp.1086-1092
• /
• 2017

Objective: O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) catalyzes the addition of O-GlcNAc and GlcNAcylation has extensive crosstalk with phosphorylation to regulate signaling and transcription. Pig OGT is located near the region of chromosome X that affects follicle stimulating hormone level and testes size. The objective of this study was to find the variations of OGT between European and Chinese pigs. Methods: Pigs were tested initially for polymorphism in OGT among European and Chinese pigs by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC). The polymorphism was also determined in an independent population of pigs including European and Chinese Meishan (ME) breeds at the National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS, RDA, Korea). Results: The intron 20 of OGT from European and Chinese pigs was 514 and 233 bp, respectively, in the pigs tested initially. They included 1 White composite (WC) boar and 7 sows ($2Minzu{\times}WC$, $2Duroc\;[DU]{\times}WC$, $2ME{\times}WC$, $1Fengzing{\times}WC$) at USMARC. The 281-bp difference was due to an inserted 276-bp element and GACTT in European pigs. When additional WC and ME boars, the grandparents that were used to generate the $1/2ME{\times}1/2WC$ parents, and the 84 boars of 16 litters from mating of $1/2ME{\times}1/2WC$ parents were analyzed, the breeds of origin of X chromosome quantitative trait locus (QTL) were confirmed. The polymorphism was determined in an independent population of pigs including DU, Landrace, Yorkshire, and ME breeds at NIAS. OGT was placed at position 67 cM on the chromosome X of the USMARC swine linkage map. Conclusion: There was complete concordance with the insertion in European pigs at USMARC and NIAS. This polymorphism could be a useful marker to identify the breed of origin of X chromosome QTL in pigs produced by crossbreeding Chinese and European pigs.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.163-170
• /
• 2002

Experimatal maxillary sinusitis was induced in New Zealand white rabbits by blocking the maxillary sinus ostium. The distribution of lectin receptors was explored in the mucosa with induced maxillary sinusitis using colloidal gold label complex with lectin WGA purified from wheat germ (Triticum vulgaris). The lectin WGA gold complex, shown to recognize GlcNac (N-acetylglucosamine) and NeuNAc (N-acetylneuraminic acid) regions, was applied to detect binding sites in Lowicryl HM 20 sections and viewed under the electron microscope. An increased height of the cylindric cells, ciliary loss and hyperplasia of the secretory cells were observed. Examination of normal sinus mucosa labeled with gold-labeled lectins showed the distribution of sialoglycoconjugates to be mainly in the ciliary layer and the granules in the secretory cells. Inflamed mucosa had increased labeling intensity of gold-labeled WGA in the cilia and the secretory granules. These results indicate that lectin WGA receptors are located in the cilia and secretory granules. Specific changes in the lectin binding pattern were apparent in the inflamed mucosa in the experimentally induced acute sinusitis, in comparison with normal mucosa, conceivably as a part of host defense reactions.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.248-256
• /
• 2014

N-acetylglucosamine kinase (GlcNAc kinase or NAGK; EC 2.7.1.59) is a N-acetylhexosamine kinase that belong to the sugar kinase/heat shock protein 70/actin superfamily. In this study, we investigated both the expression and function of NAGK in neurons. Immunohistochemistry of rat brain sections showed that NAGK was expressed at high levels in neurons but at low levels in astrocytes. Immunocytochemistry of rat hippocampal dissociate cultures confirmed these findings and showed that NAGK was also expressed at low levels in oligodendrocytes. Furthermore, several NAGK clusters were observed in the nucleoplasm of both neuron and glia. The overexpression of EGFP- or RFP (DsRed2)-tagged NAGK in rat hippocampal neurons (DIV 5-9) increased the complexity of dendritic architecture by increasing the numbers of primary dendrites and dendritic branches. In contrast, knockdown of NAGK by shRNA resulted in dendrite degeneration, and this was prevented by the co-expression of RFP-tagged NAGK. These results suggest that the upregulation of dendritic complexity is a non-canonical function of NAGK.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.389-397
• /
• 2018

The structure of glycan residues attached to glycoproteins can influence the biological activity, stability, and safety of pharmaceutical proteins delivered from transgenic pig milk. The production of therapeutic glycoprotein in transgenic livestock animals is limited, as the glycosylation of mammary gland cells and the production of glycoproteins with the desired homogeneous glycoform remain a challenge. The ${\beta}$-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminylatransferase1 (B3GNT1) gene is an important enzyme that attaches N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) to galactose (Gal) residues for protein glycosylation; however, there is limited information about pig glycosyltransferases. Therefore, we cloned the pig B3GNT1 (pB3GNT1) and investigated its functional properties that could attach N-acetylglucosamine to galactose residue. Using several different primers, a partial pB3GNT1 mRNA sequence containing the full open reading frame (ORF) was isolated from liver tissue. The ORF of pB3GNT1 contained 1,248 nucleotides and encoded 415 amino acid residues. Organ-dependent expression of the pB3GNT1 gene was confirmed in various organs from adult and juvenile pigs. The pB3GNT1 mRNA expression level was high in the muscles of the heart and small intestine but was lower in the lungs. For functional characterization of pB3GNT1, we established a stable expression of the pB3GNT1 gene in the porcine kidney cell line (PK-15). As a result, it was suggested that the glycosylation pattern of pB3GNT1 expression in PK-15 cells did not affect the total sialic acid level but increased the poly N-acetyllactosamine level. The results of this study can be used to produce glycoproteins with improved properties and therapeutic potential for the generation of desired glycosylation using transgenic pigs as bioreactors.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.234-238
• /
• 2007

We used electrospary ionization ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-IT tandem MS) to structural elucidation of three different biantennary-type glycans having zero, one, two galactoses (G0, G1, G2). The highest fragment ion in the MS/MS spectra of three glycans was produced by 0,2-ring cleavage of fucose-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) in reducing end. The fragment ions both from precursor ions and 0,2-ring cleaved ions ($^{0.2}An$; n=5 for G0, n=6 for G1 and G2) were not overlapped each other. As results of $MS^n$ analyses, tandem fragmentation trees of each glycans were generated and 2,4-ring cleavages ($^{2.4}A_6$) were occurred in GlcNAc linked to reducing end GlcNAc. This structural elucidation and fragmentation study of N-linked glycans by tandem mass spectrometry can be applied to structural analysis of more complicated glycans.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.415-420
• /
• 2011

Diabetes is a well-known independent risk factor for vascular disease. However, its underlying mechanism remains unclear. It has been reported that increased influx of the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) induces O-GlcNAcylation of proteins, leading to insulin resistance. In this study, we determined whether or not O-GlcNAc modification of proteins could increase vessel contraction. Using an endothelium-denuded aortic ring, we observed that glucosamine induced OGlcNAcylation of proteins and augmented vessel contraction stimulated by U46619, a thromboxane $A_2$ agonist, via augmentation of the phosphorylation of MLC20$MLC_{20}$, MYPT1(Thr855), and CPI17, but not phenylephrine. Pretreatment with OGT inhibitor significantly ameliorated glucosamine-induced vessel constriction. Glucosamine treatment also increased RhoA activity, which was also attenuated by OGT inhibitor. In conclusion, glucosamine, a product of glucose influx via the HBP in a diabetic state, increases vascular contraction, at least in part, through activation of the RhoA/Rho kinase pathway, which may be due to O-GlcNAcylation.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.65-75
• /
• 2005

Purpose: To understand genetic differences and similarities between mucolipidosis and control. Methods: Using the fibroblast of the mucolipidosis II and control, forward and reverse subtracted libraries were constructed. Among these clones, we investigated mutations in the GNPTA (MGC4170) gene, which codes for the ${\alpha}/{\beta}$ subunits of phosphotransferase, and in the GNPTAG gene, which codes for the ${\gamma}$ subunits in 5 Korean patients with mucolipidosis type II or IIIA. Result: Several differentially expressed cDNAs were cloned and their sequences were determined. Mutation analysis of the interested gene, GNPTA was performed and we identified 7 mutations in the GNPTA gene, but none in the GNPTAG gene. The mutations in type II patients included p.Q104X(c.310C>T), p.R1189X(c.3565C>T), p.S1058X(c.3173C>G), p.W894X(c.2681G>A) and p.H1158fsX15(c.3474_3475delTA), all of which are non-sense or frame shift mutations. However, a splicing site mutation, IVS13+1G>A (c.2715+1G>A) was detected along with a non-sense or a frame shift mutation (p.R1189X or p.E858fsX3(c.2574_2575delGA)) in two mucolipidosis type IIIA patients. Conclusion: This report shows that mutations in the GNPTA gene coding for the ${\alpha}{\beta}$subunits of phosphotransferase, and not mutations in the GNPTAG gene, account for most of mutations found in Korean patients with mucolipidosis type II or IIIA.