The SH3 domain in the fucosyltransferase FUT8 controls FUT8 activity and localization and is essential for core fucosylation.

Core fucose is an N-glycan structure synthesized by α1,6-fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) localized to the Golgi apparatus and critically regulates the functions of various glycoproteins. However, how FUT8 activity is regulated in cells remains largely unclear. At the luminal side and uncommon for Golgi proteins, FUT8 has an Src homology 3 (SH3) domain, which is usually found in cytosolic signal transduction molecules and generally mediates protein-protein interactions in the cytosol. However, the SH3 domain has not been identified in other glycosyltransferases, suggesting that FUT8's functions are selectively regulated by this domain. In this study, using truncated FUT8 constructs, immunofluorescence staining, FACS analysis, cell-surface biotinylation, proteomics, and LC-electrospray ionization MS analyses, we reveal that the SH3 domain is essential for FUT8 activity both in cells and in vitro and identified His-535 in the SH3 domain as the critical residue for enzymatic activity of FUT8. Furthermore, we found that although FUT8 is mainly localized to the Golgi, it also partially localizes to the cell surface in an SH3-dependent manner, indicating that the SH3 domain is also involved in FUT8 trafficking. Finally, we identified ribophorin I (RPN1), a subunit of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex, as an SH3-dependent binding protein of FUT8. RPN1 knockdown decreased both FUT8 activity and core fucose levels, indicating that RPN1 stimulates FUT8 activity. Our findings indicate that the SH3 domain critically controls FUT8 catalytic activity and localization and is required for binding by RPN1, which promotes FUT8 activity and core fucosylation.