Efficient inhibition of O-glycan biosynthesis using the hexosamine analog AcGalNTGc.

There is a critical need to develop small-molecule inhibitors of mucin-type O-linked glycosylation. The best-known reagent currently is benzyl-GalNAc, but it is effective only at millimolar concentrations. This article demonstrates that AcGalNTGc, a peracetylated C-2 sulfhydryl-substituted GalNAc, fulfills this unmet need.

Thioglycosides Are Efficient Metabolic Decoys of Glycosylation that Reduce Selectin Dependent Leukocyte Adhesion.

Metabolic decoys are synthetic analogs of naturally occurring biosynthetic acceptors. These compounds divert cellular biosynthetic pathways by acting as artificial substrates that usurp the activity of natural enzymes. While O-linked glycosides are common, they are only partially effective even at millimolar concentrations.

Glycosphingolipids on Human Myeloid Cells Stabilize E-Selectin-Dependent Rolling in the Multistep Leukocyte Adhesion Cascade.

Objective: Recent studies suggest that the E-selectin ligands expressed on human leukocytes may differ from those in other species, particularly mice. To elaborate on this, we evaluated the impact of glycosphingolipids expressed on human myeloid cells in regulating E-selectin-mediated cell adhesion.

Approach And Results: A series of modified human cell lines and primary neutrophils were created by targeting UDP-Glucose Ceramide Glucosyltransferase using either lentivirus-delivered shRNA or CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing.

Collagen XXIV (Col24α1) promotes osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization through TGF-β/Smads signaling pathway.

Collagen XXIV (Col24α1) is a recently discovered fibrillar collagen. It is known that mouse Col24α1 is predominantly expressed in the forming skeleton of the mouse embryo, as well as in the trabecular bone and periosteum of the newborn mouse. However, the role and mechanism of Col24α1 in osteoblast differentiation and mineralization remains unclear.