Tissue-Specific Regulation of HNK-1 Biosynthesis by Bisecting GlcNAc.
Molecules 2021;
26:5176. [PMID:
34500611 PMCID:
PMC8434142 DOI:
10.3390/molecules26175176]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human natural killer-1 (HNK-1) is a sulfated glyco-epitope regulating cell adhesion and synaptic functions. HNK-1 and its non-sulfated forms, which are specifically expressed in the brain and the kidney, respectively, are distinctly biosynthesized by two homologous glycosyltransferases: GlcAT-P in the brain and GlcAT-S in the kidney. However, it is largely unclear how the activity of these isozymes is regulated in vivo. We recently found that bisecting GlcNAc, a branching sugar in N-glycan, suppresses both GlcAT-P activity and HNK-1 expression in the brain. Here, we observed that the expression of non-sulfated HNK-1 in the kidney is unexpectedly unaltered in mutant mice lacking bisecting GlcNAc. This suggests that the biosynthesis of HNK-1 in the brain and the kidney are differentially regulated by bisecting GlcNAc. Mechanistically, in vitro activity assays demonstrated that bisecting GlcNAc inhibits the activity of GlcAT-P but not that of GlcAT-S. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation showed that GlcAT-P binds poorly to bisected N-glycan substrates, whereas GlcAT-S binds similarly to bisected and non-bisected N-glycans. These findings revealed the difference of the highly homologous isozymes for HNK-1 synthesis, highlighting the novel mechanism of the tissue-specific regulation of HNK-1 synthesis by bisecting GlcNAc.
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