Effects of branched O-glycosylation on a semiflexible peptide linker

Glycosylation is an essential modification of proteins and lipids by the addition of carbohydrate residues. These attached carbohydrates range from single monomers to elaborate branched glycans. Here, we examine how the level of glycosylation affects the conformation of a semiflexible peptide linker using the example of the hinge peptide from immunoglobulin A. Three sets of atomistic models of this hinge peptide with varying degrees of glycosylation are constructed to probe how glycosylation affects the physical properties of the linker. We found that glycosylation greatly altered the predominant conformations of the peptide, causing it to become elongated in reference to the unglycosylated form. Furthermore, glycosylation restricts the conformational exploration of the peptide. At the residue level, glycans are found to introduce a bias for the formation of more extended secondary structural elements for glycosylated serines. Additionally, the flexibility of this semiflexible proline-rich peptide is significantly reduced by glycosylation.