title: The role of beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase-I in the skin wound-healing process.
abstract: Cell-surface carbohydrate chains are known to contribute to cell migration, interaction, and proliferation. beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase-I (beta-1,4-GalT-I), which is one of the best-studied glycosyltransferases, plays a key role in the synthesis of type 2 chains in N-glycans and the core 2 branch in O-glycans. Recently, it has been reported that skin wound healing is significantly delayed in beta-1,4-GalT-I mice. However, the expression of beta-1,4-GalT-I and its biological function in the skin wound-healing process remain to be elucidated. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction to demonstrate that the expression of beta-1,4-GalT-I mRNA reached plateau values at 12 hours after skin was injured and remained elevated until 11 days after the injury. Furthermore, lectin blotting showed that beta-1,4-galactosylated carbohydrate chains were also increased after skin injury. A double-staining method combining lectin-fluorescent staining with RCA-I and immunofluorescence was first used to determine the cellular localization of beta-1,4-galactosylated carbohydrate chains. Morphological analysis showed that the chains were primarily expressed in neutrophils and partially expressed in macrophages, endothelial cells, and collagen. Our results suggest that beta-1,4-GalT-I and beta-1,4-galactosylated carbohydrate chains participate in leukocyte recruitment, angiogenesis, and collagen deposition in the skin wound-healing process.
authors.affiliation: The Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Aiguo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Haiou
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Shuqiong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Meijuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Congcong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000502:physiology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005700:Galactosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006031:Glycosylation; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003094:Collagen; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; C119701:beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase I