Structure and Function of UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide alpha-GalNAc transferases

National Institute Of Dental & Craniofacial Research

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Functions of O-glycans: Amber Famiglietti and Tom Beres in collaboration with the Angerer lab (NIH), have examined the roles of GalNAc-Ts and mucin-type O-glycosylation during embryonic development of the sea urchin, S. purpuratus. Two phenotypes are being characterized in morphants in which GalNAc-T7 expression is ablated. One phenotype involves the loss of muscle, and the other, embryos lack both the ciliated band (cells with cilia that sweep food into the mouth) and the network of nerves normally present in this region. A manuscript is currently in preparation. Raul Rojas, has studied the targeting signals in GalNAc-Ts that direct these enzymes from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi and then retain them in the Golgi. A manuscript is in preparation. We have a collaboration with Henrik Clausen in Denmark on the role of GalNAc-T11 in early mouse development. Mechanisms of GalNAcT function: We collaborated with L. Masgrau to use the hybrid QM/MM (quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics) approach to study the retaining mechanism used by GalNAc-Ts in forming O-glycans - a paper based on this work was published.