title: Bittersweet memories: linking metabolism to epigenetics through O-GlcNAcylation.
abstract: O-GlcNAcylation, which is a nutrient-sensitive sugar modification, participates in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The enzymes involved in O-linked β-D-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) cycling - O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcase (OGA) - target key transcriptional and epigenetic regulators including RNA polymerase II, histones, histone deacetylase complexes and members of the Polycomb and Trithorax groups. Thus, O-GlcNAc cycling may serve as a homeostatic mechanism linking nutrient availability to higher-order chromatin organization. In response to nutrient availability, O-GlcNAcylation is poised to influence X chromosome inactivation and genetic imprinting, as well as embryonic development. The wide range of physiological functions regulated by O-GlcNAc cycling suggests an unexplored nexus between epigenetic regulation in disease and nutrient availability.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. jah@helix.nih.gov
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hanover
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Dona C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Love
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000235:genetics*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D017350:N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferases; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase; D000117:Acetylglucosamine