An atlas of O-linked glycosylation on peptide hormones reveals diverse biological roles

Nat Commun. 2020 Aug 20;11(1):4033. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17473-1.

Abstract

Peptide hormones and neuropeptides encompass a large class of bioactive peptides that regulate physiological processes like anxiety, blood glucose, appetite, inflammation and blood pressure. Here, we execute a focused discovery strategy to provide an extensive map of O-glycans on peptide hormones. We find that almost one third of the 279 classified peptide hormones carry O-glycans. Many of the identified O-glycosites are conserved and are predicted to serve roles in proprotein processing, receptor interaction, biodistribution and biostability. We demonstrate that O-glycans positioned within the receptor binding motifs of members of the neuropeptide Y and glucagon families modulate receptor activation properties and substantially extend peptide half-lives. Our study highlights the importance of O-glycosylation in the biology of peptide hormones, and our map of O-glycosites in this large class of biomolecules serves as a discovery platform for an important class of molecules with potential opportunities for drug designs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Drug Design
  • Female
  • Glycosylation
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropeptides / metabolism
  • Peptide Hormones / chemistry*
  • Peptide Hormones / metabolism*
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry*
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism*
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
  • Protein Stability
  • Rats
  • Swine

Substances

  • Neuropeptides
  • Peptide Hormones
  • Polysaccharides