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Does Rft1 flip an N-glycan lipid precursor?

Nature volume 454, pages E3–E4 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Arising from: J. Helenius et al. Nature 415, 447–450 (2002)10.1038/415447a; Helenius et al. reply

Protein N-glycosylation requires flipping of the glycolipid Man5GlcNAc2-diphosphate dolichol (Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol) across the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)1,2,3. Helenius et al.4 report genetic evidence suggesting that Rft1, an essential ER membrane protein in yeast, is required directly to translocate Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol. We now show that a specific ER protein(s), but not Rft1, is required to flip Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol in reconstituted vesicles. Rft1 may have a critical accessory role in translocating Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol in vivo, but the Man5GlcNAc2-PP-Dol flippase itself remains to be identified.

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Figure 1: Biochemical tests of the role of Rft1 in flipping Man 5 GlcNAc 2 -PP-Dol.
Figure 2: Biochemical separation of Rft1 and Man 5 GlcNAc 2 -PP-Dol flippase activity.

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Author notes

  1. Christian G. Frank

    Present address: †Present address: Fundación Caubet-CIMERA, 07110 Bunyola, Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, 10065, New York, USA

    Christian G. Frank, Sumana Sanyal & Anant K. Menon

  2. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, 40536, Kentucky, USA

    Jeffrey S. Rush & Charles J. Waechter

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  5. Anant K. Menon
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Frank, C., Sanyal, S., Rush, J. et al. Does Rft1 flip an N-glycan lipid precursor?. Nature 454, E3–E4 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07165

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