O-GlcNAcylation, an Epigenetic Mark. Focus on the Histone Code, TET Family Proteins, and Polycomb Group Proteins

There are increasing evidences that dietary components and metabolic disorders affect gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. These observations support the notion that epigenetic reprograming-linked nutrition is connected to the etiology of metabolic diseases and cancer. During the last 5 years, accumulating data revealed that the nutrient-sensing O-GlcNAc glycosylation (O-GlcNAcylation) may be pivotal in the modulation of chromatin remodeling and in the regulation of gene expression by being part of the "histone code," and by identifying OGT (O-GlcNAc transferase) as an interacting partner of the TET family proteins of DNA hydroxylases and as a member of the polycomb group proteins. Thus, it is suggested that O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification that links nutrition to epigenetic. This review summarizes recent findings about the interplay between O-GlcNAcylation and the epigenome and enlightens the contribution of the glycosylation to epigenetic reprograming.