Chemoenzymatic Labeling, Detection and Profiling of Core Fucosylation in Live Cells

J Am Chem Soc. 2024 Sep 25;146(38):26408-26415. doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c09303. Epub 2024 Sep 16.

Abstract

Core fucosylation, the attachment of an α-1,6-linked-fucose to the N-glycan core pentasaccharide, is an abundant protein modification that plays critical roles in various biological processes such as cell signaling, B cell development, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and oncogenesis. However, the tools currently used to detect core fucosylation suffer from poor specificity, exhibiting cross-reactivity against all types of fucosylation. Herein we report the development of a new chemoenzymatic strategy for the rapid and selective detection of core fucosylated glycans. This approach employs a galactosyltransferase enzyme identified fromCaenorhabditis elegansthat specifically transfers an azido-appended galactose residue onto core fucose via a β-1,4 glycosidic linkage. We demonstrate that the approach exhibits superior specificity toward core fucose on a variety of complex N-glycans. The method enables detection of core fucosylated glycoproteins from complex cell lysates, as well as on live cell surfaces, and it can be integrated into a diagnostic platform to profile protein-specific core fucosylation levels. This chemoenzymatic labeling approach offers a new strategy for the identification of disease biomarkers and will allow researchers to further characterize the fundamental role of this important glycan in normal and disease physiology.

MeSH terms

  • Fucose* / chemistry
  • Fucose* / metabolism
  • Galactosyltransferases / metabolism
  • Glycoproteins / analysis
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Glycoproteins / metabolism
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Polysaccharides* / analysis
  • Polysaccharides* / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides* / metabolism

Substances

  • Fucose
  • Polysaccharides
  • Galactosyltransferases
  • Glycoproteins