OGT Controls the Expression and the Glycosylation of E-cadherin, and Affects Glycosphingolipid Structures in Human Colon Cell Lines.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) affects both women and men living in societies with a high sedentary lifestyle. Amongst the phenotypic changes exhibited by tumor cells, a wide range of glycosylation has been reported for colon cancer-derived cell lines and CRC tissues. These aberrant modifications affect different aspects of glycosylation, including an increase in core fucosylation and GlcNAc branching on N-glycans, alteration of O-glycans, upregulated sialylation, and O-GlcNAcylation. Although O-GlcNAcylation and complex glycosylations differ in many aspects, sparse evidences report on the interference of O-GlcNAcylation with complex glycosylation. Nevertheless, this relationship is still a matter of debate. Combining different approaches on three human colon cell lines (HT29, HCT116 and CCD841CoN), it is herein reported that silencing O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT, the sole enzyme driving O-GlcNAcylation), only slightly affects overall N- and O-glycosylation patterns. Interestingly, silencing of OGT in HT29 cells upregulates E-cadherin (a major actor of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition) and changes its glycosylation. On the other hand, OGT silencing perturbs biosynthesis of glycosphingolipids resulting in a decrease in gangliosides and an increase in globosides. Together, these results provide novel insights regarding the selective regulation of complex glycosylations by O-GlcNAcylation in colon cancer cells.