Tetsuya Okajima

Our results establish that Notch does not need to be O-fucosylated for fringe-independent Notch signaling in Drosophila; the chaperone activity of OFUT1 is sufficient for the generation of functional Notch.

Notch proteins are receptors for a conserved signaling pathway that affects numerous cell fate decisions. We found that in Drosophila, Protein O-fucosyltransferase 1 (OFUT1), an enzyme that glycosylates epidermal growth factor-like domains of Notch, also has a distinct Notch chaperone activity. OFUT1 is an endoplasmic reticulum protein, and its localization was essential for function in vivo. OFUT1 could bind to Notch, was required for the trafficking of wild-type Notch out of the endoplasmic re

Notch receptors are glycoproteins that mediate a wide range of developmental processes. Notch is modified in its epidermal growth factor-like domains by the addition of fucose to serine or threonine residues. O-Fucosylation is mediated by protein O-fucosyltransferase 1, and down-regulation of this enzyme by RNA interference or mutation of the Ofut1 gene in Drosophila or by mutation of the Pofut1 gene in mouse prevents Notch signaling. To investigate the molecular basis for the requirement for O-

A novel member of the human CMP-NeuAc:beta-galactoside alpha2, 3-sialyltransferase (ST) subfamily, designated ST3Gal VI, was identified based on BLAST analysis of expressed sequence tags, and a cDNA clone was isolated from a human melanoma line library. The sequence of ST3Gal VI encoded a type II membrane protein with 2 amino acids of cytoplasmic domain, 32 amino acids of transmembrane region, and a large catalytic domain with 297 amino acids; and showed homology to previously cloned ST3Gal III,

Rare types of glycosylation often occur in a domain-specific manner and are involved in specific biological processes. In particular, O-fucose glycans are reported to regulate the functions of EGF domain-containing proteins such as Notch receptors. In the course of mass spectrometric analysis of O-glycans displayed on Drosophila Notch receptors expressed in S2 cells, we found an unusual O-linked N-acetylhexosamine (HexNAc) modification which occurs at a site distinct from those of O-fucose and O

Progeroid type Ehlers-Danlos (E-D) syndrome was reported to be caused by defects in galactosyltransferase I (EC 2.4.1.133), which is involved in the synthesis of common linkage regions of proteoglycans. Recently, we isolated cDNA of the galactosyltransferase I (XGalT-1) (Okajima, T., Yoshida, K., Kondo, T., and Furukawa, K. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 22915-22918). Therefore, we analyzed mutations in this gene of a patient with progeroid type E-D syndrome by reverse transcription polymerase chain

A cDNA encoding a novel galactosyltransferase was identified based on BLAST analysis of expressed sequence tags, and the cDNA clones were isolated from a human melanoma line library. The new cDNA sequence encoded a type II membrane protein with 327 amino acid sequence and showed 38% homology to the Caenorhabditis elegans sqv-3 gene involved in the vulval invagination and oocyte development. Extracts from L cells transfected with the galactosyltransferase cDNA in an expression vector and a fusion

A novel member of the mouse CMP-NeuAc: beta-N-acetylgalactosaminide alpha2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc) subfamily, designated ST6GalNAc V, was identified by BLAST analysis of expressed sequence tags. The sequence of the longest cDNA clone of ST6GalNAc V encoded a type II membrane protein with 8 amino acids comprising the cytoplasmic domain, 21 amino acids comprising the transmembrane region, and 306 amino acids comprising the catalytic domain. The predicted amino acid sequence showed homology

By using a eukaryocytic cell expression cloning system, we have isolated cDNAs of the globoside synthase (beta1, 3-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase) gene. Mouse fibroblast L cells transfected with SV40 large T antigen and previously cloned Gb3/CD77 synthase cDNAs were co-transfected with a cDNA library prepared from mRNA from human kidney together with Forssman synthase cDNA, and Forssman antigen-positive cells were panned using an anti-Forssman monoclonal antibody. The isolated cDNAs contained

A novel member of the mouse CMP-NeuAc:beta-N-acetylgalactosaminide alpha2,6-sialyltransferase (ST6GalNAc) subfamily, designated ST6GalNAc VI, was identified by BLAST analysis of expressed sequence tags. The sequence of the cDNA clone of ST6GalNAc VI encoded a type II membrane protein with 43 amino acids composing the cytoplasmic domain, 21 amino acids composing the transmembrane region, and 269 amino acids composing the catalytic domain. The predicted amino acid sequence showed homology to the p