Co-translational function of Cosmc, core 1 synthase specific molecular chaperone, revealed by a cell-free translation system

Emerging Roles of the Unique Molecular Chaperone Cosmc in the Regulation of Health and Disease

The core-1 β1-3galactosyltransferase-specific chaperone 1 (Cosmc) is a unique molecular chaperone of core-1 β1-3galactosyltransferase(C1GALT1), which typically functions inside the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Cosmc helps C1GALT1 to fold correctly and maintain activity. It also participates in the synthesis of the T antigen, O-glycan, together with C1GALT1. Cosmc is a multifaceted molecule with a wide range of roles and functions. It involves platelet production and the regulation of immune cell function. Besides that, the loss of function of Cosmc also facilitates the development of several diseases, such as inflammation diseases, immune-mediated diseases, and cancer. It suggests that Cosmc is a critical control point in diseases and that it should be regarded as a potential target for oncotherapy. It is essential to fully comprehend Cosmc's roles, as they may provide critical information about its involvement in disease development and pathogenesis. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in understanding the role of Cosmc in normal development and diseases.

Update on the role of C1GALT1 in cancer (Review)

Cancer remains one of the most difficult diseases to treat. In the quest for early diagnoses to improve patient survival and prognosis, targeted therapies have become a hot research topic in recent years. Glycosylation is the most common posttranslational modification in mammalian cells. Core 1β1,3-galactosyltransferase (C1GALT1) is a key glycosyltransferase in the glycosylation process and is the key enzyme in the formation of the core 1 structure on which most complex and branched O-glycans are formed. A recent study reported that C1GALT1 was aberrantly expressed in tumors. In cancer cells, C1GALT1 is regulated by different factors. In the present review, the expression of C1GALT1 in different tumors and its possible molecular mechanisms of action are described and the role of C1GALT1 in cancer development is discussed.

"Stuck on sugars - how carbohydrates regulate cell adhesion, recognition, and signaling"

We have explored the fundamental biological processes by which complex carbohydrates expressed on cellular glycoproteins and glycolipids and in secretions of cells promote cell adhesion and signaling. We have also explored processes by which animal pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites adhere to glycans of animal cells and initiate disease. Glycans important in cell signaling and adhesion, such as key O-glycans, are essential for proper animal development and cellular differentiation, but they are also involved in many pathogenic processes, including inflammation, tumorigenesis and metastasis, and microbial and parasitic pathogenesis. The overall hypothesis guiding these studies is that glycoconjugates are recognized and bound by a growing class of proteins called glycan-binding proteins (GBPs or lectins) expressed by all types of cells. There is an incredible variety and diversity of GBPs in animal cells involved in binding N- and O-glycans, glycosphingolipids, and proteoglycan/glycosaminoglycans. We have specifically studied such molecular determinants recognized by selectins, galectins, and many other C-type lectins, involved in leukocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation in human tissues, lymphocyte trafficking, adhesion of human viruses to human cells, structure and immunogenicity of glycoproteins on the surfaces of human parasites. We have also explored the molecular basis of glycoconjugate biosynthesis by exploring the enzymes and molecular chaperones required for correct protein glycosylation. From these studies opportunities for translational biology have arisen, involving production of function-blocking antibodies, anti-glycan specific antibodies, and synthetic glycoconjugates, e.g. glycosulfopeptides, that specifically are recognized by GBPs. This invited short review is based in part on my presentation for the IGO Award 2019 given by the International Glycoconjugate Organization in Milan.

Biochemical characterization of functional domains of the chaperone Cosmc

Cosmc is an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone necessary for normal protein O-GalNAc glycosylation through regulation of T-synthase, its single client. Loss-of-function of Cosmc results in expression of the Tn antigen, which is associated with multiple human diseases including cancer. Despite intense interest in dysregulated expression of the Tn antigen, little is known about the structure and function of Cosmc, including domain organization, secondary structure, oligomerization, and co-factors. Limited proteolysis experiments show that Cosmc contains a structured N-terminal domain (CosmcΔ256), and biochemical characterization of CosmcΔ256 reveals wild type chaperone activity. Interestingly, CosmcE152K, which shows loss of function in vivo, exhibits wild type-like activity in vitro. Cosmc and CosmcE152K heterogeneously oligomerize and form monomeric, dimeric, trimeric, and tetrameric species, while CosmcΔ256 is predominantly monomeric as characterized by chemical crosslinking and blue native page electrophoresis. Additionally, Cosmc selectively binds divalent cations in thermal shift assays and metal binding is abrogated by the CosmcΔ256 truncation, and perturbed by the E152K mutation. Therefore, the N-terminal domain of Cosmc mediates T-synthase binding and chaperone function, whereas the C-terminal domain is necessary for oligomerization and metal binding. Our results provide new structure-function insight to Cosmc, indicate that Cosmc behaves as a modular protein and suggests points of modulation or regulation of in vivo chaperone function.

Tumor-associated antigens: Tn antigen, sTn antigen, and T antigen

Glycosylation is one of the major posttranslational modifications of proteins. N-glycosylation (Asn-linked) and O-glycosylation (Ser/Thr-linked) are the two main forms. Abnormal O-glycosylation is frequently observed on the surface of tumor cells, and is associated with an adverse outcome and poor prognosis in patients with cancer. O-glycans (Tn, sTn, and T antigen) can be synthesized in the Golgi apparatus with the aid of several glycosyltransferases (such as T-synthase and ST6GalNAc-I) in a suitable environment. The unique molecular chaperone of T-synthase is Cosmc, which helps T-synthase to fold correctly in the endoplasmic reticulum. Dysregulation of these glycosyltransferases, molecular chaperones, or the environment is involved in the dysregulation of O-glycans. Tn, sTn, and T antigen neo- or over-expression occurs in many types of cancer including gastric, colon, breast, lung, esophageal, prostate, and endometrial cancer. This review discusses the major synthetic pathway of O-glycans and the mechanism by which Tn, sTn, and T antigens promote tumor metastasis.

Simple sugars to complex disease--mucin-type O-glycans in cancer

Mucin-type O-glycans are a class of glycans initiated with N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) α-linked primarily to Ser/Thr residues within glycoproteins and often extended or branched by sugars or saccharides. Most secretory and membrane-bound proteins receive this modification, which is important in regulating many biological processes. Alterations in mucin-type O-glycans have been described across tumor types and include expression of relatively small-sized, truncated O-glycans and altered terminal structures, both of which are associated with patient prognosis. New discoveries in the identity and expression of tumor-associated O-glycans are providing new avenues for tumor detection and treatment. This chapter describes mucin-type O-glycan biosynthesis, altered mucin-type O-glycans in primary tumors, including mechanisms for structural changes and contributions to the tumor phenotype, and clinical approaches to detect and target altered O-glycans for cancer treatment and management.

Identification of a novel protein binding motif within the T-synthase for the molecular chaperone Cosmc

Prior studies suggested that the core 1 β3-galactosyltransferase (T-synthase) is a specific client of the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone Cosmc, whose function is required for T-synthase folding, activity, and consequent synthesis of normal O-glycans in all vertebrate cells. To explore whether the T-synthase encodes a specific recognition motif for Cosmc, we used deletion mutagenesis to identify a cryptic linear and relatively hydrophobic peptide in the N-terminal stem region of the T-synthase that is essential for binding to Cosmc (Cosmc binding region within T-synthase, or CBRT). Using this sequence information, we synthesized a peptide containing CBRT and found that it directly interacts with Cosmc and also inhibits Cosmc-assisted in vitro refolding of denatured T-synthase. Moreover, engineered T-synthase carrying mutations within CBRT exhibited diminished binding to Cosmc that resulted in the formation of inactive T-synthase. To confirm the general recognition of CBRT by Cosmc, we performed a domain swap experiment in which we inserted the stem region of the T-synthase into the human β4GalT1 and found that the CBRT element can confer Cosmc binding onto the β4GalT1 chimera. Thus, CBRT is a unique recognition motif for Cosmc to promote its regulation and formation of active T-synthase and represents the first sequence-specific chaperone recognition system in the ER/Golgi required for normal protein O-glycosylation.

Functional expression and characterisation of membrane transport proteins

Membrane transporters set the framework organising the complexity of plant metabolism in cells, tissues and organisms. Their substrate specificity and controlled activity in different cells is a crucial part for plant metabolism to run pathways in concert. Transport proteins catalyse the uptake and exchange of ions, substrates, intermediates, products and cofactors across membranes. Given the large number of metabolites, a wide spectrum of transporters is required. The vast majority of in silico annotated membrane transporters in plant genomes, however, has not yet been functionally characterised. Hence, to understand the metabolic network as a whole, it is important to understand how transporters connect and control the metabolic pathways of plant cells. Heterologous expression and in vitro activity studies of recombinant transport proteins have highly improved their functional analysis in the last two decades. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in membrane protein expression and functional characterisation using various host systems and transport assays.

Tight complex formation between Cosmc chaperone and its specific client non-native T-synthase leads to enzyme activity and client-driven dissociation

The interaction of the endoplasmic reticulum molecular chaperone Cosmc with its specific client T-synthase (Core 1 β1-3-galactosyltransferase) is required for folding of the enzyme and eventual movement of the T-synthase to the Golgi, but the mechanism of interaction is unclear. Here we show that the lumenal domain of recombinant Cosmc directly interacts specifically in either free form or covalently bound to solid supports with denatured T-synthase but not with the active dimeric form of the enzyme. This leads to formation of a relatively stable complex of Cosmc and denatured T-synthase accompanied by formation of reactivated enzyme in an ATP-independent fashion that is not regulated by redox, calcium, pH, or intermolecular disulfide bond formation. The partly refolded and active T-synthase remains tightly bound noncovalently to Cosmc. Dissociation of T-synthase from the complex is promoted by further interactions of the complex with free forms of either native or non-native T-synthase. Taken together, these results demonstrate a novel mechanism in which Cosmc cycles to bind non-native T-synthase, leading to enzyme activity and release in a client-driven process.

Characterization of ppGalNAc-T18, a member of the vertebrate-specific Y subfamily of UDP-N-acetyl-α-D-galactosamine:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases

The first step of mucin-type O-glycosylation is catalyzed by members of the UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (ppGalNAc-T; EC 2.4.1.41) family. Each member of this family has unique substrate specificity and expression profiles. In this report, we describe a new subfamily of ppGalNAc-Ts, designated the Y subfamily. The Y subfamily consists of four members, ppGalNAc-T8, -T9, -T17 and -T18, in which the conserved YDX(5)WGGENXE sequence in the Gal/GalNAc-T motif of ppGalNAc-Ts is mutated to LDX(5)YGGENXE. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Y subfamily members only exist in vertebrates. All four Y subfamily members lack in vitro GalNAc-transferase activity toward classical substrates possibly because of the UDP-GalNAc-binding pocket mutants. However, ppGalNAc-T18, the newly identified defining member, was localized in the endoplasmic reticulum rather than the Golgi apparatus in lung carcinoma cells. The knockdown of ppGalNAc-T18 altered cell morphology, proliferation potential and changed cell O-glycosylation. ppGalNAc-T18 can also modulate the in vitro GalNAc-transferase activity of ppGalNAc-T2 and -T10, suggesting that it may be a chaperone-like protein. These findings suggest that the new Y subfamily of ppGalNAc-Ts plays an important role in protein glycosylation; characterizing their functions will provide new insight into the role of ppGalNAc-Ts.