Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Department of Mechanism of Aging, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
PLoS One. 2021 Jan 19;16(1):e0245607. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245607. eCollection 2021.
Mucins, the major components of salivary mucus, are large glycoproteins abundantly modified with O-glycans. Mucins present on the surface of oral tissues contribute greatly to the maintenance of oral hygiene by selectively adhering to the surfaces of microbes via mucin O-glycans. However, due to the complex physicochemical properties of mucins, there have been relatively few detailed analyses of the mechanisms controlling the expression of mucin genes and the glycosyltransferase genes involved in glycosylation. Analysis performed using supported molecular matrix electrophoresis, a methodology developed for mucin analysis, and knockout mice without the polycomb group protein Bmi-1 revealed that Bmi-1 regulates mucin levels in the submandibular gland by suppressing the expression of the mucin Smgc gene, and that Bmi-1 also regulates mucin O-glycosylation via suppression of the glycosyltransferase Gcnt3 gene in the submandibular gland.
黏蛋白是唾液黏液的主要成分，是经过大量 O-糖基化修饰的大型糖蛋白。黏蛋白存在于口腔组织的表面，通过黏蛋白 O-糖链选择性地黏附在微生物表面，对口腔卫生的维持起着重要作用。然而，由于黏蛋白具有复杂的物理化学性质，因此对控制黏蛋白基因表达和参与糖基化的糖基转移酶基因表达的机制的详细分析相对较少。使用支持分子基质电泳（一种用于黏蛋白分析的方法）和缺乏多梳蛋白 Bmi-1 的基因敲除小鼠进行的分析表明，Bmi-1 通过抑制黏蛋白 Smgc 基因的表达来调节颌下腺中的黏蛋白水平，并且 Bmi-1 还通过抑制颌下腺中的糖基转移酶 Gcnt3 基因来调节黏蛋白 O-糖基化。
