High-fat diet alters N-glycosylation of PTPRJ in murine liver

Jannis Ulke1, Christian Schwedler2, Janine Krüger1

  • 1Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Max Rubner Center (MRC) for Cardiovascular Metabolic Renal Research, Berlin, Germany.

Insights

High-fat diet obesity alters protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRJ glycosylation in the liver. These changes in N-glycans may link to insulin resistance and metabolic disorders.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Metabolic Signaling
  • Glycobiology

Background:

  • Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are crucial regulators of cell signaling pathways.
  • Imbalances in tyrosine phosphorylation, involving PTPs and protein tyrosine kinases, are implicated in metabolic disorders like insulin resistance.
  • PTPRJ (DEP-1), a PTP family member, negatively regulates insulin signaling and has glycosylation sites, but its glycosylation pattern in metabolic disease is poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the N-glycosylation pattern of PTPRJ in the liver.
  • To investigate how high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity affects PTPRJ glycosylation.
  • To explore the potential link between altered PTPRJ glycosylation and metabolic disturbances.

Main Methods:

  • Mass spectrometry-based glycomic analysis of PTPRJ from liver tissue of lean and obese mice on different diets.
  • Quantification of various N-glycan structures (high-mannose, complex neutral, fucosylated, sialylated).
  • Analysis of the expression of key glycosylation enzymes, such as MAN2A1.

Main Results:

  • N-glycosylation constitutes a significant portion of PTPRJ's molecular weight.
  • Obese mice (HFD) showed increased high-mannose and fucose-free complex neutral N-glycans on PTPRJ compared to lean controls.
  • Conversely, complex fucosylated and sialylated N-glycans on PTPRJ were significantly reduced in HFD mice.
  • The mannosidase MAN2A1, involved in N-glycan processing, was downregulated in HFD conditions.

Conclusions:

  • This study provides the first evidence that HFD-induced obesity alters the liver PTPRJ glycosylation profile.
  • Specific changes include an increase in high-mannose structures and a decrease in complex fucosylated and sialylated structures.
  • These findings suggest a novel role for PTPRJ glycosylation in the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases and offer potential therapeutic targets.

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