PMID: 24256719

 

    Legend: Sugar

Title : AGO61-dependent GlcNAc modification primes the formation of functional glycans on α-dystroglycan.

Abstract :
  1. Dystroglycanopathy is a major class of congenital muscular dystrophy that is caused by a deficiency of functional glycans on α-dystroglycan (α-DG) with laminin-binding activity
  2. A product of a recently identified causative gene for dystroglycanopathy, AGO61 , acted in vitro as a protein O-mannose β-1, 4- N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase , although it was not functionally characterized
  3. Here we show the phenotypes of AGO61-knockout mice and demonstrate that AGO61 is indispensable for the formation of laminin-binding glycans of α-DG
  4. AGO61-knockout mouse brain exhibited abnormal basal lamina formation and a neuronal migration defect due to a lack of laminin-binding glycans
  5. Furthermore, our results indicate that functional α-DG glycosylation was primed by AGO61-dependent GlcNAc modifications of specific threonine-linked mannosyl moieties of α-DG
  6. These findings provide a key missing link for understanding how the physiologically critical glycan motif is displayed on α-DG and provides new insights on the pathological mechanisms of dystroglycanopathy