Background It is known that ethanol (EtOH) and its metabolites have a negative effect on protein glycosylation. The fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus induced by alteration of the structure of largest Golgi matrix protein, giantin, is the major consequence of damaging effects of EtOH-metabolism on the Golgi, however, the link between this and abnormal glycosylation remains unknown. Because previously we have shown that Golgi morphology dictates glycosylation, we examined the effect EtOH administration has on function of Golgi residential enzymes involved in N-glycosylation. Methods HepG2 cells transfected with mouse ADH1 (VA-13 cells) were treated with 35 mM ethanol for 72 h. Male Wistar rats were pair-fed Lieber-DeCarli diets for 5 to 8 weeks. Characterization of Golgi-associated mannosyl (α-1,3-)-glycoprotein beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (MGAT1), α-1,2-mannosidase (Man-I) and α-mannosidase II (Man-II) were performed in VA-13 cells and rat hepatocytes followed by 3D Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). Results First, we detected that EtOH administration results in the loss of sialylated N-glycans on asialoglycoprotein receptor, however the high mannose-type N-glycans are increased. Further analysis by 3D SIM microscopy revealed that EtOH treatment despite Golgi disorganization does not change cis-Golgi localization for Man-I, but does induce medial-to-cis relocation of MGAT1 and Man-II. Using different approaches, including electron microscopy, we revealed that EtOH treatment results in dysfunction of Arf1 GTPase followed by a deficiency in COPI vesicles at the Golgi. Silencing beta-COP or expression of GDP-bound mutant Arf1(T31N) mimics the EtOH effect on retaining MGAT1 and Man-II at the cis-Golgi, suggesting that (a) EtOH specifically blocks activation of Arf1, and (b) EtOH alters the proper localization of Golgi enzymes through impairment of COPI. Importantly, the level of MGAT1 was reduced, because likely MGAT1, contrary to Man-I and Man-II, is giantin-sensitive. Conclusions Thus, we provide the mechanism by which EtOH-induced Golgi remodeling may significantly modify formation of N-glycans.

Various biological processes at the cellular level are regulated by glycosylation which is a highly micro-heterogeneous post-translational modification (PTM) on proteins and lipids. The dynamic nature of glycosylation can be studied through bio-orthogonal tagging of metabolically engineered nonnatural sugars into glycan epitopes. However, this approach possesses a significant drawback due to nonspecific background reactions and ambiguity of non-natural sugar metabolism. Here we report a tag-free strategy for their direct detection by glycoproteomics and glycomics using mass spectrometry. The method dramatically simplifies the detection of non-natural functional group bearing monosaccharides installed through promiscuous sialic acid, GalNAc, and GlcNAc biosynthetic pathways. Multistage enrichment of glycoproteins by cellular fractionation, subsequent ZIC-HILIC based glycopeptide enrichment, and a spectral enrichment algorithm for the MS data processing enabled direct detection of nonnatural monosaccharides that are incorporated at low abundance on the N/O-glycopeptides along with their natural counterparts. Our approach allowed the detection of both natural and non-natural sugar bearing glycopeptides, N and O-glycopeptides, differentiation of non-natural monosaccharide types on the glycans and also their incorporation efficiency through quantitation. Through this we could deduce some interconversion of monosaccharides during their processing through glycan salvage pathway and subsequent incorporation into glycan chains. The study of glycosylation dynamics through this method can be conducted in high throughput as few sample processing steps are involved, enabling understanding of glycosylation dynamics under various external stimuli and thereby could bolster the use of metabolic glycan engineering in glycosylation functional studies.

The crystal structure of a β-prism II (BP2) fold lectin from Remusatia vivipara, a plant of traditional medicinal value, has been determined at a resolution of 2.4 Å. This lectin (RVL, Remusatia vivipara lectin) is a dimer with each protomer having two distinct BP2 domains without a linker between them. It belongs to the "monocot mannose-binding" lectin family, which consists of proteins of high sequence and structural similarity. Though the overall tertiary structure is similar to that of lectins from snowdrop bulbs and garlic, crucial differences in the mannose-binding regions and oligomerization were observed. Unlike most of the other structurally known proteins in this family, only one of the three carbohydrate recognition sites (CRSs) per BP2 domain is found to be conserved. RVL does not recognize simple mannose moieties. RVL binds to only N-linked complex glycans like those present on the gp120 envelope glycoprotein of HIV and mannosylated blood proteins like fetuin, but not to simple mannose moieties. The molecular basis for these features and their possible functional implications to understand the different levels of carbohydrate affinities in this structural family have been investigated through structure analysis, modeling and binding studies. Apart from being the first structure of a lectin to be reported from the Araceae/Arum family, this protein also displays a novel mode of oligomerization among BP2 lectins.

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