Synapsin-1 and tau reciprocal O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation sites in mouse brain synaptosomes

Exp Mol Med. 2013 Jun 28;45(6):e29. doi: 10.1038/emm.2013.56.

Abstract

O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) represents a key regulatory post-translational modification (PTM) that is reversible and often reciprocal with phosphorylation of serine and threonine at the same or nearby residues. Although recent technical advances in O-GlcNAc site-mapping methods combined with mass spectrometry (MS) techniques have facilitated study of the fundamental roles of O-GlcNAcylation in cellular processes, an efficient technique for examining the dynamic, reciprocal relationships between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation is needed to provide greater insights into the regulatory functions of O-GlcNAcylation. Here, we describe a strategy for selectively identifying both O-GlcNAc- and phospho-modified sites. This strategy involves metal affinity separation of O-GlcNAcylated and phosphorylated peptides, β-elimination of O-GlcNAcyl or phosphoryl functional groups from the separated peptides followed by dithiothreitol (DTT) conjugation (BEMAD), affinity purification of DTT-conjugated peptides using thiol affinity chromatography, and identification of formerly O-GlcNAcylated or phosphorylated peptides by MS. The combined metal affinity separation and BEMAD approach allows selective enrichment of O-GlcNAcylated peptides over phosphorylated counterparts. Using this approach with mouse brain synaptosomes, we identified the serine residue at 605 of the synapsin-1 peptide, 603QASQAGPGPR612, and the serine residue at 692 of the tau peptide, 688SPVVSGDTSPR698, which were found to be potential reciprocal O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation sites. These results demonstrate that our strategy enables mapping of the reciprocal site occupancy of O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation of proteins, which permits the assessment of cross-talk between these two PTMs and their regulatory roles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acetylglucosamine / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, Affinity
  • Glycosylation
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptides / isolation & purification
  • Phosphorylation
  • Synapsins / chemistry
  • Synapsins / metabolism*
  • Synaptosomes / metabolism*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • tau Proteins / chemistry
  • tau Proteins / metabolism*

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Synapsins
  • tau Proteins
  • Acetylglucosamine