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Glycan Node Analysis: A Bottom-up Approach to Glycomics
Published on: May 22, 2016
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Intracellular galectins control cellular responses commensurate with cell surface carbohydrate composition.
Ming-Hsiang Hong1, Wei-Han Lin1, I-Chun Weng1
1Institute of Biomedical Sciences.
Glycobiology
|September 26, 2019
Summary
Cytosolic galectins bind to glycans on damaged endocytic vesicles, influencing cellular responses. Altering cell surface glycans impacts galectin accumulation and autophagy, revealing a link between glycan dynamics and cell signaling.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Glycobiology
Background:
- Galectins are cytosolic proteins with extracellular glycan ligands.
- Cytosolic galectins are hypothesized to bind damaged endocytic vesicles.
- Cellular responses are linked to galectin-vesicle interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of cytosolic galectin accumulation on damaged endocytic vesicles.
- To elucidate the role of cell surface glycans in galectin-mediated cellular responses.
- To understand how galectins direct autophagy adaptor proteins.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a photosensitizer-induced endocytic vesicle damage model.
- Employed super-resolution imaging to visualize galectin distribution.
- Manipulated cell surface glycans to assess their impact on galectin accumulation and autophagy.
Main Results:
- Galectin levels at damaged endosomes depend on carbohydrate composition.
- Galectin-3 and galectin-8 form distinct aggregates within microcompartments.
- Altering cell surface glycans significantly affects galectin accumulation and autophagy adaptor protein recruitment.
Conclusions:
- Cytosolic galectins accumulate on damaged endocytic vesicles via glycan binding.
- Galectin accumulation and subsequent cellular responses are modulated by cell surface glycan dynamics.
- This study highlights the intricate relationship between cell surface glycans and intracellular signaling pathways.
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