O ‐GlcNAcylation regulates endoplasmic reticulum exit sites through Sec31A modification in conventional secretory pathway

The conventional secretory pathway is indispensable for eukaryotic cells. Newly synthesized membrane and secretory proteins are released from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through ER-derived vesicles to their appropriate destination. Vesicle formation is important for steady protein trafficking. O-GlcNAcylation ( O-GlcNAc) is a unique protein glycosylation signature, whose dynamic regulation by O-GlcNAc transferase and O-GlcNAcase occurs exclusively for nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. Because of this locally limited property, the role of O-GlcNAc in the conventional protein secretory pathway is unknown. We report that Sec31A on COPII vesicles, a specific coat-protein complex for anterograde trafficking in the ER-Golgi network, is O-GlcNAcylated on S964, which accelerates COPII vesicle formation through control of its binding affinity to apoptosis-linked gene 2, a calcium-binding protein. Together, O-GlcNAc on Sec31A regulates conventional secretory vesicle trafficking in the ER-Golgi network. These modifications accelerate COPII vesicle formation and accelerated anterograde transport of vesicles within the ER-Golgi networks.-Cho, H. J., Mook-Jung, I. O-GlcNAcylation regulates endoplasmic reticulum exit sites through Sec31A modification in conventional secretory pathway.