The international research team led by Professor Yasuhiko Kizuka of the Institute for Glyco-core Reserch (iGCORE), Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, has discovered a new reaction mechanism of GnT-IVa, a glycosyltransferase that is also involved in diabetes mellitus. GnT-IVa is an enzyme that makes branching structures on glycans on proteins. Furthermore, by clarifying the steric structure of the lectin region, it was clarified that the lectin is essential for enzyme activity and promotes efficient sugar chain synthesis by binding to specific sugar chains. The research results are expected to provide important basic knowledge for elucidating the mechanism of complex glycan synthesis on proteins, as well as for elucidating the pathophysiology of diabetes and developing therapeutic methods.
This research was conducted by a group led by Professor Yasuhiko Kizuka of iGCORE, Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, Assistant Professor Masamichi Nagae of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Tohoku University of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, University of Mississippi, and others.
The research results were published online in the Communications Biology, on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 18:00 (Japan time).
DOI Number：10.1038/s42003-022-03661-w
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