Background: We have previously reported that β-catenin is post-translationally modified with a single O-linked attachment of β-N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc). We showed that O-GlcNAc regulated β-catenin's subcellular localization and transcriptional activity.
Objective: The objectives of this investigation were to identify the putative O-GlcNAc sites of β-catenin and the relevance of identified sites in the regulation of β-catenin's localization and transcriptional activity.
Method: Missense mutations were introduced to potential O-GlcNAc sites of pEGFP-C2-N-Terminal- or pEGFP-C2-Wild Type-β-catenin by site-directed mutagenesis. We determined the levels of O-GlcNAc-β-catenin, subcellular localization, interaction with binding partners and transcriptional activity of the various constructs.
Results: Serine 23 of β-catenin was determined as a site for O-GlcNAc modification which regulated its subcellular distribution, its interactions with cellular partners and consequently its transcriptional activity.
Significance: O-GlcNAcylation of Serine 23 is a novel regulatory modification for β-catenin's subcellular localization and transcriptional activity. This study is the first report to characterize site specific regulation of β-catenin by the O-GlcNAc modification.
Keywords: O-GlcNAcylation; Subcellular localization; Transcriptional function; β-Catenin.
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