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Updated: Dec 31, 2025

Characterization of Glycoproteins with the Immunoglobulin Fold by X-Ray Crystallography and Biophysical Techniques
Published on: July 5, 2018
Cryo-EM is uncovering the mechanism of eukaryotic protein N-glycosylation
1Structural Biology Program, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Abstract:
N-glycosylation is one of the predominant modifications of eukaryotic proteins. It is catalyzed by oligosaccharyl transferase (OST), an eight-subunit protein complex in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. OST transfers the oligosaccharide from a lipid-linked donor (LLO) to the Asn-Xaa-Ser/Thr sequon of nascent polypeptide, usually cotranslationally by partnering with the ribosome and the translocon. We and two other groups have recently determined high-resolution cryo-EM structures of the yeast and mammalian OST complexes. In this Structural Snapshot, we describe the molecular mechanism of eukaryotic OST and its interaction with the translocon.
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