An Optimized Isotopic Photocleavable Tagging Strategy for Site-Specific and Quantitative Profiling of Protein O-GlcNAcylation in Colorectal Cancer Metastasis

ACS Chem Biol. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):513-520. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.1c00981. Epub 2022 Mar 7.

Abstract

O-linked-β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) glycosylation is a ubiquitous protein post-translational modification of the emerging importance in metazoans. Of the thousands of O-GlcNAcylated proteins identified, many carry multiple modification sites with varied stoichiometry. To better match the scale of O-GlcNAc sites and their dynamic nature, we herein report an optimized strategy, termed isotopic photocleavable tagging for O-GlcNAc profiling (isoPTOP), which enables quantitative and site-specific profiling of O-GlcNAcylation with excellent specificity and sensitivity. In HeLa cells, ∼1500 O-GlcNAcylation sites were identified with the optimized procedures, which led to quantification of ∼1000 O-GlcNAcylation sites with isoPTOP. Furthermore, we apply isoPTOP to probe the O-GlcNAcylation dynamics in a pair of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines, SW480 and SW620 cells, which represent primary carcinoma and metastatic cells, representatively. The stoichiometric differences of 625 O-GlcNAcylation sites are quantified. Of these quantified sites, many occur on important regulators involved in tumor progression and metastasis. Our results provide a valuable database for understanding the functional role of O-GlcNAc in CRC. IsoPTOP should be applicable for investigating O-GlcNAcylation dynamics in various pathophysiological processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylglucosamine* / metabolism
  • Colorectal Neoplasms*
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Protein Processing, Post-Translational
  • Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Acetylglucosamine