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Abstract
N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) has long been known to play important roles in cell surface structure. Recent studies are now revealing new functions for GlcNAc in cell signaling. Exposure to GlcNAc regulates virulence functions in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans and in pathogenic bacteria. These signaling pathways sense exogenous GlcNAc and are distinct from the O-GlcNAc signaling pathways in mammalian cells in which increased levels of intracellular GlcNAc synthesis leads to post-translational modification of proteins by attachment of O-GlcNAc. The novel roles of GlcNAc in cell signaling will be the subject of this mini-review.
Acknowledgments
Our research on GlcNAc signaling was supported by a Public Health Service grant awarded to J.B.K. from the National Institutes of Health (RO1 GM087368). S.N. was supported by a Training Grant (NIH T32CA009176) from the National Cancer Institute and S.P. was supported by a Training Grant (NIH T32AI007539) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseasesof the National Institutes of Health.