Abnormalities of Glycogenes in Tonslllar Lymphocytes in IgA Nephropathy

摘要

Glycosylation, which represents the most complex post-translational modification, plays a pivotal role during protein maturation, and is orchestrated by numerous glycosyltransferases. Aberrant O-glycosylation of serum and tonsillar lgA1 is presumed to be one of the pathogeneses of IgA nephropathy (IgAN). However, the synthesis of underglycosylated IgAl in tonsils has not yet been characterized. This study investigated tonsillar B lymphocytes of IgAN using tonsils from patients with chronic tonsillitis and sleep apnea syndrome. Gene expression of beta1,3-galactosyltransferase ((33GalT), Cosmc, UDP-N-acetyl-ct-D-galactosamine: polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyl-transferase 2, were significantly downregulated in tonsillar CD19-positive B lymphocytes from IgAN patients compared to control as determined by real-time RT-PCR. In contrast, the level of sialyltrans-ferase was not significantly different among the three groups.