title: Glycotranscriptome study reveals an enzymatic switch modulating glycosaminoglycan synthesis during B-cell development and activation.
abstract: B-cell fate and responses are modulated by soluble mediators and direct cellular interactions. Migration properties also vary during differentiation, commitment and activation. In many cells, modulation of responses to stimuli involves cell surface glycans, whose architecture depends on the simultaneous expression of multiple enzymes. By looking at the glycosylation-related gene expression patterns among B-cell populations, we determined in this study that the strongest variations were observed for CSGalNAcT-1 and EXTL1. These are enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of alternative forms of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), namely chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate, respectively. These two enzymes showed inverse fluctuations in progenitors, resting B cells and activated B cells, suggesting a developmentally regulated switch between chondroitin and heparan sulfate synthesis. To explore whether these variations contributed to optimal B-cell differentiation, we overexpressed EXTL1 in the B-cell lineage of transgenic mice, yielding a partial differentiation blockade at the pro-B to pre-B transition. In the periphery, this defect was almost fully compensated for in vivo, with normal-size B-cell compartments and normal serum immunoglobulin levels in the transgenic EXTL1 mice. The peripheral B cells from EXTL1 transgenics were only affected with regard to their in vitro responses to polyclonal activation, showing reduced proliferation. Together the data suggest that despite their low amounts in lymphocytes, the heparan sulfate chains decorating the endogenous GAGs appear to be regulators of B-cell physiology.
authors.affiliation: Université de Limoges, CNRS UMR6101, Contrôle des Réponses Immunes B et Lymphoproliférations, Limoges, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duchez
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pascal
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cogné
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jayat-Vignoles
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Julien
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cogné
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D006497:Heparan Sulfate; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases; D017351:N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C485653:Extl1 protein, mouse; C472559:chondroitin sulfate N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-1