Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience (Nov 2021)

Proteomic Profiling of Astrocytic O-GlcNAc Transferase-Related Proteins in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

  • Jun Fan,
  • Jun Fan,
  • Jun Fan,
  • Jun Fan,
  • Qiu-Ling Zhong,
  • Qiu-Ling Zhong,
  • Qiu-Ling Zhong,
  • Qiu-Ling Zhong,
  • Ran Mo,
  • Ran Mo,
  • Ran Mo,
  • Ran Mo,
  • Cheng-Lin Lu,
  • Cheng-Lin Lu,
  • Cheng-Lin Lu,
  • Cheng-Lin Lu,
  • Jing Ren,
  • Jing Ren,
  • Jing Ren,
  • Jing Ren,
  • Jia-Wen Mo,
  • Jia-Wen Mo,
  • Jia-Wen Mo,
  • Jia-Wen Mo,
  • Fang Guo,
  • Fang Guo,
  • Fang Guo,
  • Fang Guo,
  • You-Lu Wen,
  • Xiong Cao,
  • Xiong Cao,
  • Xiong Cao,
  • Xiong Cao,
  • Xiong Cao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2021.729975
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a key part of the brain networks that are closely related to the regulation of behavior, acts as a key regulator in emotion, social cognition, and decision making. Astrocytes are the majority cell type of glial cells, which play a significant role in a number of processes and establish a suitable environment for the functioning of neurons, including the brain energy metabolism. Astrocyte’s dysfunction in the mPFC has been implicated in various neuropsychiatric disorders. Glucose is a major energy source in the brain. In glucose metabolism, part of glucose is used to convert UDP-GlcNAc as a donor molecule for O-GlcNAcylation, which is controlled by a group of enzymes, O-GlcNAc transferase enzyme (OGT), and O-GlcNAcase (OGA). However, the role of O-GlcNAcylation in astrocytes is almost completely unknown. Our research showed that astrocytic OGT could influence the expression of proteins in the mPFC. Most of these altered proteins participate in metabolic processes, transferase activity, and biosynthetic processes. GFAP, an astrocyte maker, was increased after OGT deletion. These results provide a framework for further study on the role of astrocytic OGT/O-GlcNAcylation in the mPFC.

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