O-GlcNAcylation regulates epidermal growth factor receptor intracellular trafficking and signaling

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107453119
• Publication Date: 2022-03-03T19:27:40Z
• Authors: Liming Wu; Yaxian Cheng; Didi Geng; Zhiya Fan; Bingyi Lin; Qiang Zhu; Jingchao Li; Weijie Qin; Wen Yi
• Keywords: ErbB Receptors; Protein Transport; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; Acylation; Humans; Endosomes; Hep G2 Cells; Biological Sciences; Lysosomes; Signal Transduction

Significance Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most important membrane receptors that transduce growth signals into cells to sustain cell growth, proliferation, and survival. EGFR signal termination is initiated by EGFR internalization, followed by trafficking through endosomes, and degradation in lysosomes. How this process is regulated is still poorly understood. Here, we show that hepatocyte growth factor regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (HGS), a key protein in the EGFR trafficking pathway, is dynamically modified by a single sugar N-acetylglucosamine. This modification inhibits EGFR trafficking from endosomes to lysosomes, leading to the accumulation of EGFR and prolonged signaling. This study provides an important insight into diseases with aberrant growth factor signaling, such as cancer, obesity, and diabetes.