Figure 1

Life span of glycoproteins from translation to circulation. The translation of signal peptide-containing membrane and secreted protein occurs on the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), with the growing peptide chain being shuttled through the translocon complex into the lumen of the ER. In the ER lumen, core N-glycosylation of accessible N-X-S/T sites is performed by the oligosaccharide transferase component of the translocon complex while the nascent protein is being translated and folded. Following the completion of translation, folding, and core glycan processing, the protein is shuttled to the Golgi apparatus, where further N-glycosylation and O-glycosylation are performed by different glycosyltransferases. In the Golgi, glycoproteins are packaged into secretory vesicles bound for fusion with the plasma membrane, where the secreted proteins are released into the extracellular space and membrane proteins are presented on the surface of the cell, making them accessible for cleavage and release by proteolytic enzymes. Once in the extracellular space, these glycoproteins can then enter the circulation.