Notch signaling is essential for development of numerous tissues, and dysregulation of Notch activity results in a wide variety of diseases including several cancers (e.g. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and developmental disorders such as Alagille Syndrome and congenital heart defects. Glycosylation of the Notch extracellular domain (ECD) provides a critical mechanism for regulating Notch activity. Loss of O-fucose or O- glucose glycans blocks Notch signaling, and extension of O-fucose by the Fringe family of 3-N- acetylglucosaminyltransferases modulates Notch specificity for ligand. The Notch ECD contains up to 36 tandems Epidermal Growth Factor-like (EGF) repeats, most of which are decorated with these glycans at predicted consensus sequences. Using cell-based Notch signaling assays to evaluate the importance of individual O-fucose and O-glucose modification sites in mouse Notch1, we identified two functional regions, the ligand-binding domain (EGF11-12) and the Abruptex region (EGF24-29), that mediate the effects of these glycans. Interestingly, the Abruptex region is known to be genetically linked to Fringe in flies. We also developed highly sensitive semi-quantitative nano-LC-MS/MS glycoproteomic methods to examine the structure of glycans at individual sites on Notch proteins overexpressed in cell-based systems. Significantly, O- fucose sites in the ligand-binding and Abruptex regions of Notch1 are modified at high stoichiometries and are efficiently elongated by Fringes. Finally, published structural studies and our preliminary electron microscopic structural studies suggest that glycan distribution and structure influence Notch conformation. Based on these observations, we have proposed that Notch1 function is regulated by glycan structures in the ligand- binding and Abruptex regions of the Notch1 extracellular domain. Here we will refine and test our model by examining whether glycosylation of the same regions also affect Notch2, which is essential for development but plays distinct non-redundant roles with Notch1.
In Aim 1 we evaluate the effects of mutations in predicted O-fucose and O-glucose sites in mouse Notch2 using cell-based assays. If glycans regulate all Notch proteins through a common mechanism, we predict that elimination of glycosylation sites in the ligand-binding and Abruptex regions will affect Notch2 activity as they do in Notch1. Alternately, one or more of the glycosylation sites responsible for regulation may differ for Notch1 and Notch2.
In Aim 2 we use our highly sensitive glycoproteomic methods to examine whether these functionally important sites are modified in vivo during development of B and T cells, where Fringes are known to modulate Notch activity. Finally, in Aim 3 we collaborate with several world-class structural biologists to determine how site-specific changes in glycans affect Notch structure and function. These studies will define the contribution of glycan distribution and structure to Notch function i vivo and will provide the foundation for future development of novel therapeutic strategies taking advantage of Notch regulation by glycosylation.

Public Health Relevance

Notch receptors play critical roles in the proper development of heart, lung, blood, and vasculature, and defects in Notch function lead to cancers as well as congenital heart and vascular defects. The studies described here examine how addition of carbohydrates to Notch receptors regulates their function during development. A clear understanding of how Notch is regulated by carbohydrates can then be used to develop novel therapies to control Notch activity in the context of disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
4R01GM061126-16
Application #
9102203
Study Section
Membrane Biology and Protein Processing Study Section (MBPP)
Program Officer
Marino, Pamela
Project Start
2001-01-01
Project End
2017-06-30
Budget Start
2016-07-01
Budget End
2017-06-30
Support Year
16
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Schneider, Michael; Kumar, Vivek; Nordstrøm, Lars Ulrik et al. (2018) Inhibition of Delta-induced Notch signaling using fucose analogs. Nat Chem Biol 14:65-71
Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Schneider, Michael; Williamson, Daniel B et al. (2018) Two novel protein O-glucosyltransferases that modify sites distinct from POGLUT1 and affect Notch trafficking and signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:E8395-E8402
Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Wong, Derek; Schneider, Michael et al. (2018) Variant in human POFUT1 reduces enzymatic activity and likely causes a recessive microcephaly, global developmental delay with cardiac and vascular features. Glycobiology 28:276-283
Luca, Vincent C; Kim, Byoung Choul; Ge, Chenghao et al. (2017) Notch-Jagged complex structure implicates a catch bond in tuning ligand sensitivity. Science 355:1320-1324
Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Yu, Hongjun; Hao, Huilin et al. (2017) O-Glycosylation modulates the stability of epidermal growth factor-like repeats and thereby regulates Notch trafficking. J Biol Chem 292:15964-15973
Sheikh, M Osman; Halmo, Stephanie M; Patel, Sneha et al. (2017) Rapid screening of sugar-nucleotide donor specificities of putative glycosyltransferases. Glycobiology 27:206-212
Kakuda, Shinako; Haltiwanger, Robert S (2017) Deciphering the Fringe-Mediated Notch Code: Identification of Activating and Inhibiting Sites Allowing Discrimination between Ligands. Dev Cell 40:193-201
Schneider, Michael; Al-Shareffi, Esam; Haltiwanger, Robert S (2017) Biological functions of fucose in mammals. Glycobiology 27:601-618
Weh, Eric; Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Muheisen, Sanaa et al. (2017) Functional characterization of zebrafish orthologs of the human Beta 3-Glucosyltransferase B3GLCT gene mutated in Peters Plus Syndrome. PLoS One 12:e0184903
Hubmacher, Dirk; Schneider, Michael; Berardinelli, Steven J et al. (2017) Unusual life cycle and impact on microfibril assembly of ADAMTS17, a secreted metalloprotease mutated in genetic eye disease. Sci Rep 7:41871

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