Link to bioRxiv paper:
http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.29.534715v1?rss=1

Authors: van Deventer, S. J., Hoogvliet, I. A., van de Voort, M., Arnold, F., van Spriel, A.

Abstract:
Tetraspanin proteins play an important role in many cellular processes as they are key organizers of different plasma membrane receptors. Most tetraspanins are highly glycosylated, but the function of this post-translational modification remains largely unstudied. In this study we investigated the glycosylation of CD37 and CD53, two tetraspanins important for cellular and humoral immunity. Broad and cell-specific repertoires of N-glycosylated CD37 and CD53 were observed in human B cells. We generated different glycosylation mutants and analyzed their localization, nanoscale organization and protein interactions. Abrogation of glycosylation in CD37 revealed the importance of this modification for CD37 surface expression, whereas neither surface expression nor nanoscale organization of CD53 was affected by its glycosylation. CD37 interaction with its known partner proteins, CD20 and IL-6R, was not affected by glycosylation, other than via its changed subcellular localization. Surprisingly, glycosylation was found to inhibit the interaction between CD53 and its partner proteins CD45 and CD20. Together, our data show that tetraspanin glycosylation affects their function in immune cells, which adds another layer of regulation to tetraspanin-mediated membrane organization.

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