Abstract
Two reports in PNAS by Vester-Christensen et al. (1) and Lommel et al. (2) provide critical new insight into how a unique family of glycans contributes to early embryonic development, brain development, and malignant transformation. Following transfer of mannose (Man) to Ser or Thr by protein O-mannosyltransferase (POMT), either POMT1 or POMT2, the O-Man can be further modified with N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, sialic acid, PO4, N-acetylgalactosamine, glucuronic acid, and xylose to generate structures, such as those illustrated in Fig. 1. Glycans linked to proteins via O-Man represent a major fraction of the O-glycans in the brain, where they were first described (3). However, just which glycoproteins are modified with O-Man in the brain, as well as in other tissues, has yet to be determined.
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