Abstract
Mucin-type O-glycosylation, a predominant type of O-glycosylation, is an evolutionarily conserved posttranslational modification in animals. Mucin-type O-glycans are often found on mucins in the mucous membranes of the digestive tract. These glycan structures are also expressed in other cell types, such as blood cells and nephrocytes, and have crucial physiological functions. Altered expression of mucin-type O-glycans is known to be associated with several human disorders, including Tn syndrome and cancer; however, the physiological roles of mucin-type O-glycans in the mammalian brain remains largely unknown. The functions of mucin-type O-glycans have been studied in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The basic structures of mucin-type O-glycans, including Tn antigen (GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr) and T antigen (Galβ1–3GalNAcα1-Ser/Thr), as well as the glycosyltransferases that synthesize them, are conserved between Drosophila and mammals. These mucin-type O-glycans are expressed in the Drosophila nervous system, including the central nervous system (CNS) and neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). In primary cultured neurons of Drosophila, mucin-type O-glycans show a characteristic localization pattern in axons. Phenotypic analyses using mutants of glycosyltransferase genes have revealed that mucin-type O-glycans are required for CNS development, NMJ morphogenesis, and synaptic functions of NMJs in Drosophila. In this review, we describe the roles of mucin-type O-glycans in the Drosophila nervous system. These findings will provide insight into the functions of mucin-type O-glycans in the mammalian brain.
Highlights
Mucin-type O-glycans, one of the major types of O-glycan, are evolutionarily conserved in animals
Little is known about their function in the mammalian nervous system, the physiological roles of mucin-type O-glycans have been well studied in this organ in Drosophila
Mucin-type O-glycans have been shown to be expressed in the Drosophila nervous system, including the central nervous system (CNS) and neuromuscular junctions (NMJs)
Summary
Mucin-type O-glycans, one of the major types of O-glycan, are evolutionarily conserved in animals. In vivo Expression of Mucin-Type O-Glycans In Drosophila embryos, dC1GalT1 mRNA and T antigen, which can be labeled by anti-T antigen antibody or peanut agglutinin (PNA), are expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), including the brain and ventral nerve cord (VNC; Tian and Ten Hagen, 2007; Lin et al, 2008; Yoshida et al, 2008). DC1GalT1 null mutants display a malformed brain hemisphere and greatly extended VNC (Lin et al, 2008), showing that mucin-type core 1 glycans are required for subsequent CNS development.
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