Mitochondrial O-GlcNAc Transferase Interacts with and Modifies Many Proteins and Its Up-Regulation Affects Mitochondrial Function and Cellular Energy Homeostasis

Simple Summary O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic post-translational modification of proteins involved in the control of intracellular signaling pathways in response to changes in nutrient availability, especially glucose concentration. To date, most research has focused on O-GlcNAcylation of proteins by the nuclear-cytoplasmic isoform of O-GlcNAc transferase (ncOGT), while the role of mitochondrial OGT (mOGT) and its effect on O-GlcNAcylation of mitochondrial proteins are poorly understood. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of mOGT on O-GlcNAcylation of mitochondrial proteins, mitochondrial function, and energy metabolism of breast cancer cells. Herein, we used two independent proteomics-based approaches to identify mOGT-interacting partners and proteins modified by mOGT. Based on our findings, we propose that O-GlcNAcylation of proteins by mOGT is a part of the mechanism by which glucose affects mitochondrial function and cellular bioenergetics. O-GlcNAcylation is a cell glucose sensor. The addition of O-GlcNAc moieties to target protein is catalyzed by the O-Linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT). OGT is encoded by a single gene that yields differentially spliced OGT isoforms. One of them is targeted to mitochondria (mOGT). Although the impact of O-GlcNAcylation on cancer cells biology is well documented, mOGT's role remains poorly investigated. We performed studies using breast cancer cells with up-regulated mOGT or its catalytic inactive mutant to identify proteins specifically modified by mOGT. Proteomic approaches included isolation of mOGT protein partners and O-GlcNAcylated proteins from mitochondria-enriched fraction followed by their analysis by mass spectrometry. Moreover, we analyzed the impact of mOGT dysregulation on mitochondrial activity and cellular metabolism using a variety of biochemical assays. We found that mitochondrial OGT expression is glucose-dependent. Elevated mOGT expression affected the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and increased intramitochondrial ROS generation. Moreover, mOGT up-regulation caused a decrease in cellular ATP level. We identified many mitochondrial proteins as mOGT substrates. Most of these proteins are localized in the mitochondrial matrix and the inner mitochondrial membrane and participate in mitochondrial respiration, fatty acid metabolism, transport, translation, apoptosis, and mtDNA processes. Our findings suggest that mOGT interacts with and modifies many mitochondrial proteins, and its dysregulation affects cellular bioenergetics and mitochondria function.

Automated summary

Our study investigated the impact of mitochondrial OGT on O-GlcNAcylation of mitochondrial proteins, mitochondrial function, and energy metabolism in breast cancer cells. We found evidence suggesting that mOGT interacts with and modifies multiple mitochondrial proteins, potentially affecting cellular bioenergetics and mitochondria function.