O-GlcNAcylation of progranulin promotes hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation

Yi Liang; Liqiong Chen; Zhuanglin Huang; Yueliang Li; Hanqin Weng; Lianxian Guo

doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151150

O-GlcNAcylation of progranulin promotes hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation

Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2024 Dec 5:742:151150. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151150. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yi Liang¹, Liqiong Chen², Zhuanglin Huang¹, Yueliang Li¹, Hanqin Weng³, Lianxian Guo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523000, China.
² Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523000, China; Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhanjiang Central People's Hospital, Zhanjiang, China.
³ Department of General Surgery, Dongguan People's Hospital, Dongguan, 523000, China. Electronic address: wenghanqin81@163.com.
⁴ Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Diagnostics, School of Medical Technology, The First Dongguan Affiliated Hospital, Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan, 523000, China. Electronic address: glx525@gdmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39657353
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2024.151150

Abstract

Progranulin (PGRN) is overexpressed and implicated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development; however, its post-translational modifications and regulatory mechanisms in HCC remain largely unexplored. Here, the expression levels of PGRN, OGT, and O-GlcNAcylation were found to be elevated in both HCC samples and cell lines. LC-MS/MS analysis and immunoprecipitation revealed that PGRN underwent O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification at threonine 272 (Thr272). Co-immunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy confirmed the interaction and colocalization of O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) with PGRN. Reducing O-GlcNAcylation increased the ubiquitination of PGRN, while increasing O-GlcNAcylation inhibited ubiquitination and elevated PGRN stability, as measured by cycloheximide (CHX) chase experiments. This regulation of PGRN stability was directly linked to its expression levels. Moreover, mutation at the primary O-GlcNAc site Thr272 inhibited the activity of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and suppressed HCC cell proliferation. Together, our findings indicate that O-GlcNAcylation at Thr272 is essential for PGRN-driven HCC cell proliferation.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; O-GlcNAcylation; PGRN; Proliferation.