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Journal of Biochemistry Advance Access originally published online on February 13, 2008
Journal of Biochemistry 2008 144(1):1-6; doi:10.1093/jb/mvn016
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© 2008 The Japanese Biochemical Society

JB Minireviews-New Paradigm in Glycobiology

Biological Functions of Glycosyltransferase Genes Involved in O-fucose Glycan Synthesis

Tetsuya Okajima*, Aiko Matsuura and Tsukasa Matsuda

Nagoya University Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Department of Applied Molecular Biosciences, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +81-52-789-4131, Fax: +81-52-789-4128, E-mail: tokajima{at}arg.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Received December 3, 2007; Accepted January 11, 2008


  Abstract

Rare types of glycosylation often occur in a domain-specific manner and are involved in specific biological processes. Well-known examples of such modification are O-linked fucose (O-fucose) and O-linked glucose (O-glucose) glycans on epidermal growth factor (EGF) domains. In particular, O-fucose glycans are reported to regulate the functions of EGF domain-containing proteins such as urinary-type plasminogen activator and Notch receptors. Two glycosyltransferases catalyze the initiation and elongation of O-fucose glycans. The initiation process is catalyzed by O-fucosyltransferase 1, which is essential for Notch signalling in both Drosophila and mice. O-fucosyltransferase 1 can affect the folding, ligand interaction and endocytosis of Notch receptors, and both the glycosyltransferase and non-catalytic activities of O-fucosyltransferase 1 have been reported. The elongation of O-fucose monosaccharide is catalyzed by Fringe-related genes, which differentially modulate the interaction between Notch and two classes of ligands, namely, Delta and Serrate/Jagged. In this article, we have reviewed the recent reports addressing the distinctive features of the glycosyltransferases and O-glycans present on the EGF domains.

Key Words: Fringe, Notch, O-fucose, O-fucosyltransferase, O-glucose

Abbreviations: EGF, epidermal growth factor; Xyl, xylose; Glu, glucose; NeuAc, N-acetylneuraminic acid; Gal, galactose; GlcNAc, N-acetylglucosamine; Fuc, fucose; O-linked glucose, O-glucose, O-linked fucose,O-fucose


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