A neural glycan HNK-1 is transferred to recipient cells via small extracellular vesicles.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian cells are decorated with a large variety of glycans. Although the biosynthetic enzymes for most glycan structures have been identified, it remains unclear how glycan levels are regulated in cells. Recently, some cellular glycans and their biosynthetic enzymes were found to be loaded into a subset of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) and transferred to recipient cells, suggesting uncharacterized sEV-mediated mechanisms for glycan remodeling. Here, we found that a brain-specific glycan involved in learning and memory, human natural killer-1 (HNK-1), and its major biosynthetic enzyme, GlcAT-P (B3GAT1), are included in sEVs. Size exclusion chromatography and immunoisolation experiments suggested that the sEVs containing GlcAT-P and glycoproteins with HNK-1 are similar in size but d

SUBMITTER: Tokoro Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12860940 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature