黏蛋白是细胞表面的或分泌的、具有高度O-糖基化修饰的糖蛋白.在黏蛋白中,O-聚糖(O-glycan)是通过N-乙酰氨基半乳糖与丝氨酸或苏氨酸之间形成α连接,该结构即被称为黏蛋白型O-聚糖.黏蛋白型O-聚糖是由多肽∶N-乙酰氨基半乳糖转移酶(ppGalNAc-T)家族催化起始合成的,近年来,该酶的催化机制及结构特点已成为糖基转移酶研究的热点.在肿瘤中常常伴随着黏蛋白型O-聚糖结构上和数量上的改变,形成肿瘤特异聚糖结构(cancer-associated glycans),如肿瘤Tn和T抗原等.肿瘤特异聚糖使肿瘤细胞的抗原性和黏附能力发生改变,促进肿瘤细胞的恶性增生与转移.而这些肿瘤特异聚糖结构,也为肿瘤的诊断与抗肿瘤药物或疫苗开发提供了理论基础.
Mucins are heavily O-glycosylated glycoproteins found in mucous secretions and as transmembrane glycoproteins of the cell surface with the glycan exposed to the external environment . In mucins, O-glycans are covalently α-linked via an N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) moiety to serine or threonine, and the structures are named mucin-type O-glycans. Mucin-type O-glycans are initiated by UDP-GalNAc∶polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases, which enzymatic mechanism and structural features have been a hot ...