Detecting the "O-GlcNAc-ome"; detection, purification, and analysis of O-GlcNAc modified proteins

The modification of Ser and Thr residues of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins with a monosaccharide of O-linked beta-N-acetylglucosamine is an essential and dynamic post-translational modification of metazoans. Deletion of the O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), the enzyme that adds O-GlcNAc, is lethal in mammalian cells highlighting the importance of this post-translational modification in regulating cellular function. O-GlcNAc is believed to modulate protein function in a manner analogous to protein phosphorylation. Notably, on some proteins O-GlcNAc and O-phosphate modify the same Ser/Thr residue, suggesting that a reciprocal relationship exists between these two post-translational modifications. In this chapter we describe the most robust techniques for the detection and purification of O-GlcNAc modified proteins, and discuss some more specialized techniques for site-mapping and detection of O-GlcNAc during mass spectrometry.