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A sugar-coated switch for cellular growth and arrest

Nature Chemical Biology volume 3, pages 307–309 (2007)Cite this article

The reversible attachment of an activated form of N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) acts as a molecular switch between the growth and arrest of cells, establishing a new role for cell surface glycans.

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Figure 1: Once β-1,6-GlcNAc branching is added to cell surface receptors, they can associate with galectin-3 to form a molecular lattice that opposes glycoprotein endocytosis, leaving the activated receptors to reside on the cell surface where they promote signaling and growth.

Katie Ris

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Y. Ikeda, T. Taguchi, A. Matsumoto and many colleagues in our laboratory for helpful suggestions.

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  1. Naoyuki Taniguchi is in the Department of Disease Glycomics, Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan

    Naoyuki Taniguchi

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  1. Naoyuki Taniguchi
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Taniguchi, N. A sugar-coated switch for cellular growth and arrest. Nat Chem Biol 3, 307–309 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio0607-307

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