Glycobiology and Extracellular Matrices
A complex between phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIα and integrin α3β1 is required for N-glycan sialylation in cancer cells
Aberrant N-glycan sialylation of glycoproteins is closely associated with malignant phenotypes of cancer cells and metastatic potential, which includes cell adhesion, migration, and growth. Recently, phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase IIα (PI4KIIα), which is localized to the trans-Golgi network, was identified as a regulator of Golgi phosphoprotein 3 (GOLPH3) and of vesicle transport in the Golgi apparatus. GOLPH3 is a target of PI4KIIα and helps anchor sialyltransferases and thereby regulates sialylation of cell surface receptors.Extrinsic sialylation is dynamically regulated by systemic triggers in vivo
Recent reports have documented that extracellular sialyltransferases can remodel both cell-surface and secreted glycans by a process other than the canonical cell-autonomous glycosylation that occurs within the intracellular secretory apparatus. Despite association of the abundance of these extracellular sialyltransferases, particularly ST6Gal-1, with disease states such as cancer and a variety of inflammatory conditions, the prevalence of this extrinsic glycosylation pathway in vivo remains unknown.Sialylation Controls Prion Fate in Vivo
Prions or PrPSc are proteinaceous infectious agents that consist of misfolded, self-replicating states of a sialoglycoprotein called the prion protein or PrPC. The current work tests a new hypothesis that sialylation determines the fate of prions in an organism. To begin, we produced control PrPSc from PrPC using protein misfolding cyclic amplification with beads (PMCAb), and also generated PrPSc with reduced sialylation levels using the same method but with partially desialylated PrPC as a substrate (dsPMCAb).Sialylation of Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) Anchors of Mammalian Prions Is Regulated in a Host-, Tissue-, and Cell-specific Manner
Prions or PrPSc are proteinaceous infectious agents that consist of misfolded, self-replicating states of the prion protein or PrPC. PrPC is posttranslationally modified with N-linked glycans and a sialylated glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Conformational conversion of PrPC gives rise to glycosylated and GPI-anchored PrPSc. The question of the sialylation status of GPIs within PrPSc has been controversial. Previous studies that examined scrapie brains reported that both sialo- and asialo-GPIs were present in PrPSc, with the majority being asialo-GPIs.
