Functional Glycosylation of Dystroglycan Is Crucial for Thymocyte Development in the Mouse

BackgroundAlpha-dystroglycan (α-DG) is a cell surface receptor providing a molecular link between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the actin-based cytoskeleton. During its biosynthesis, α-DG undergoes specific and unusual O-glycosylation crucial for its function as a high-affinity cellular receptor for ECM proteins.
Methodology/Principal FindingsWe report that expression of functionally glycosylated α-DG during thymic development is tightly regulated in developing T cells and largely confined to CD4−CD8− double negative (DN) thymocytes. Ablation of DG in T cells had no effect on proliferation, migration or effector function but did reduce the size of the thymus due to a significant loss in absolute numbers of thymocytes. While numbers of DN thymocytes appeared normal, a marked reduction in CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) thymocytes occurred. In the periphery mature naïve T cells deficient in DG showed both normal proliferation in response to allogeneic cells and normal migration, effector and memory T cell function when tested in acute infection of mice with either lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or influenza virus.
Conclusions/SignificanceOur study demonstrates that DG function is modulated by glycosylation during T cell development in vivo and that DG is essential for normal development and differentiation of T cells.