Our research focuses on the molecular, cellular, and systemic mechanisms underlying the neural functions of glycoprotein sialylation. Although the brain is the organ with the most prominent sialylation in human body, and recent studies implicated sialylation defects in several neurological diseases, the functions of this important type of glycosylation in the nervous system are still poorly understood. The intricacies of glycosylation, increased pleiotropy and redundancy, and limitations of available genetic approaches significantly hinder the research on sialylation in the overwhelmingly complex vertebrate nervous system. Thus, a suitable model system would be an important tool for more efficient and accelerated studies in this area. Here we propose to use Drosophila as a model organism to investigate the neural functions of N-linked sialylation. We previously characterized Drosophila sialyltransferase, DSiaT, a sole sialyltransferase in Drosophila. This enzyme is highly homologous to its human counterpart which also shares with DSiaT several functional properties, including similar acceptor specificity and an elevated expression in the brain. Our recent experiments revealed that the function of sialylation in Drosophila is limited to the nervous system. We found that sialylation regulates neural transmission and the development of neuromuscular junctions. Abnormal sialylation results in Drosophila in prominent neurological phenotypes, including temperature-sensitive paralysis, defects in locomotion, and a significantly shortened life span. Our experiments indicated that a simple N-linked glycoprotein sialylation plays a prominent role in modulating neural activity, which establishes a new paradigm of the involvement of glycosylation in the nervous system regulation. This novel, nervous system-specific function of N-linked sialylated glycans is potentially conserved between flies and humans. The current project will extend our previous research and will investigate (i) the cellular mechanisms underlying the neural function of sialylation in Drosophila, (ii) the molecular mechanisms of sialylation-mediated control of neural excitability, and (iii) the role of sialylation in neural plasticity. We will use a multidisciplinary strategy, combining the advantages of Drosophila model system, including its exceptional amenability to genetic manipulations, exhaustively characterized neural development, low redundancy and pleiotropy of sialylation genes, with well-established electrophysiological and behavioral approaches, cell culture and biochemical techniques, as well as novel technologies for glycan analyses. This project will shed light on the crucial evolutionarily conserved principles of neural regulation and development, which could be useful for biomedical research and relevant therapeutic strategies. Our research will also establish Drosophila as a versatile model system for future studies of the role of glycosylation in the nervous system.

Public Health Relevance

Glycosylation modifies protein functions and profoundly affects the development and physiology of human brain. We will use Drosophila (fruit flies) as an experimentally amenable, genetically tractable and well-studied model organism to elucidate the important functions of glycosylation in the nervous system. Our research will shed light on biological mechanisms that may suggest novel therapeutic strategies for curing neurological diseases with abnormal neural excitability, including as epilepsy and chronic pain.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01NS075534-03
Application #
8513429
Study Section
Intercellular Interactions (ICI)
Program Officer
Mamounas, Laura
Project Start
2011-08-01
Project End
2016-07-31
Budget Start
2013-08-01
Budget End
2014-07-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$302,619
Indirect Cost
$91,525
Name
Texas A&M University
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Earth Sciences/Natur
DUNS #
078592789
City
College Station
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77845
Baker, Ryan; Nakamura, Naosuke; Chandel, Ishita et al. (2018) Protein O-Mannosyltransferases Affect Sensory Axon Wiring and Dynamic Chirality of Body Posture in the Drosophila Embryo. J Neurosci 38:1850-1865
Akishina, Angelina A; Vorontsova, Julia E; Cherezov, Roman O et al. (2017) Xenobiotic-induced activation of human aryl hydrocarbon receptor target genes in Drosophila is mediated by the epigenetic chromatin modifiers. Oncotarget 8:102934-102947
Mertsalov, Ilya B; Novikov, Boris N; Scott, Hilary et al. (2016) Characterization of Drosophila CMP-sialic acid synthetase activity reveals unusual enzymatic properties. Biochem J 473:1905-16
Panin, Vladislav M; Wells, Lance (2014) Protein O-mannosylation in metazoan organisms. Curr Protoc Protein Sci 75:Unit 12.12.
Scott, Hilary; Panin, Vladislav M (2014) N-glycosylation in regulation of the nervous system. Adv Neurobiol 9:367-94
Scott, Hilary; Panin, Vladislav M (2014) The role of protein N-glycosylation in neural transmission. Glycobiology 24:407-17
Islam, Rafique; Nakamura, Michiko; Scott, Hilary et al. (2013) The role of Drosophila cytidine monophosphate-sialic acid synthetase in the nervous system. J Neurosci 33:12306-15
Nakamura, Michiko; Pandey, Dheeraj; Panin, Vladislav M (2012) Genetic Interactions Between Drosophila sialyltransferase and *1,4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-A Genes Indicate Their Involvement in the Same Pathway. G3 (Bethesda) 2:653-6