Role of ammonia for brain abnormal protein glycosylation during the development of hepatitis B virus-related liver diseases

BACKGROUND: Ammonia is the most typical neurotoxin in hepatic encephalopathy (HE), but the underlying pathophysiology between ammonia and aberrant glycosylation in HE remains unknown. RESULTS: Here, we used HBV transgenic mice and astrocytes to present a systems-based study of glycosylation changes and corresponding enzymes associated with the key factors of ammonia in HE. We surveyed protein glycosylation changes associated with the brain of HBV transgenic mice by lectin microarrays. Upregulation of Galβ1-3GalNAc mediated by core 1 β1,3-galactosyltransferase (C1GALT1) was identified as a result of ammonia stimulation. Using in vitro assays, we validated that upregulation of C1GALT1 is a driver of deregulates calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis by overexpression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (IP3R1) in astrocytes. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that silencing C1GALT1 could depress the IP3R1 expression, an effective strategy to inhibit the ammonia-induced upregulation of Ca(2+) activity, thereby C1GALT1 and IP3R1 may serve as therapeutic targets in hyperammonemia of HE. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13578-022-00751-4.