REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cancer Cell Biology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1560491
This article is part of the Research TopicUnraveling the Role of Protein Modifications in Tumor Dynamics and Immune ModulationView all 4 articles
Insights into O-GlcNAcylation and programmed cell death in cancer
Provisionally accepted
- The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
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O-GlcNAcylation is an essential post-translational modification that adds O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to numerous proteins' serine or threonine residues. Several studies have indicated O-GlcNAcylation regulates various processes related to cancer, including signal transduction, transcription, cell division, metabolism, and cytoskeletal regulation. Programmed cell death (PCD) is a regulated and organized form of cell death controlled by genes, including apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis. As research on PCD has become increasingly in-depth, a potential link between O-GlcNAcylation and PCD has emerged. This review will focus on the complex relationships between O-GlcNAcylation and different PCD pathways, which are closely tied to the onset, progression, and resistance of cancer. By clarifying the relationship between O-GlcNAcylation and PCD, we aim to create a theoretical basis for improving anti-cancer treatments, with promising potential for clinical application.
Keywords: O-GlcNAcylation, Cancer, programmed cell death, Apoptosis, Autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis
Received: 14 Jan 2025; Accepted: 05 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gao, Yan, Zheng, Zhu, Li, Shi, Sun, Ren and Zhi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ling Gao, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Wenhao Ren, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
Keqian Zhi, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
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