O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification known to modify many nuclear, cytoplasmic and mitochondrial proteins. Modulation of cellular pathways by O-GlcNAcylation involves an extensive cross talk with the pathways that are also regulated by protein phosphorylation signaling pathways. Consequently, like phosphorylation O-GlcNAcylation is involved in the regulation of many cellular processes. This protein modification plays a fundamental role also in chronic diseases. O-GlcNAc cycling is modified by two enzymes: O-GlcNAc transferase and O-GlcNAcase, which are highly expressed in brain, immune cells and pancreas. In this master thesis we focused on a study of O-GlcNAcylation modulators on SH-SY5Y cell line proliferation. Our objective was to prove the involvement of O-GlcNAcylation in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma or some other neurological disease. We used SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line, an in vitro model widely used for the study of neurons. In the first part, a metabolic assay was used to evaluate the effect of the OSMI-1, a selective inhibitor of OGT, and TMG, a selective inhibitor of OGA, on the viability of SH-SY5Y cells. We showed that OSMI-1 (50 µM) is cytotoxic, while TMG had no effect on this parameter. Next, we determined non-toxic concentrations of inhibitors and their potential effect on proliferation of SH-SY5Y cells. The differences were not statistically significant, therefore we could not prove the influence on proliferation. Also, using flow cytometry we were not able to show any differences in cell cycle. In the next step Western blot was used to investigate the effects of OSMI-1, TMG and glucose level on O-GlcNAcylation level and OGT, OGA expression in SH-SY5Y cells. OSMI-1 reduced O-GlcNAcylation of proteins and expression of OGA, but induced the expression of OGT. On the other hand, TMG induced O-GlcNAcylation and expression of OGA, but reduced the expression of OGT. High glucose levels resulted in higher level of protein O-GlcNAcylation and induced expression of OGT, compared to low glucose medium. In the last segment we addressed the effect of OSMI-1 on the intracellular location of OGT in SH-SY5Y cells. Using confocal microscopy we determined that OSMI-1 causes OGT translocalization from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. This indicates changes in the cellular signalization, however further studies are needed to identify which pathways are involved in the observed effect.
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