O-GLcNAc post-translational modifications regulate the entry of neurons into an axon branching program.

Many neuronal cytosolic and nuclear proteins are post-translationally modified by the reversible addition of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) on serines and threonines. The cellular functions of O-GlcNAc modifications in neuronal development are not known. We report that O-GlcNAc-modified proteins are distributed nonuniformly throughout cultured primary chicken forebrain neurons, with intense immunostaining of the cell body, punctuate immunostaining in axons and all processes, and localization in filopodia/lamellipodia.