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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, RESULTS. Meshes: Actins, Animals, Cell Cycle, Cell Membrane, Cytoskeleton, Dystroglycans, Extracellular Matrix, Flow Cytometry, Glycosylation, Humans, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, Mice, Orthomyxoviridae, T-Lymphocytes, Thymus Gland.
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Is functional glycosylation of dystroglycan crucial for thymocyte development in the mouse? Context: Alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG) is a cell surface receptor providing a molecular link between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the actin-based cytoskeleton. During its biosynthesis, alpha-DG undergoes specific and unusual O-glycosylation crucial for its function as a high-affinity cellular receptor for ECM proteins. We report that expression of functionally glycosylated alpha-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.
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Our 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. Final Decision: yes