Zscan4 as a candidate conveyor of early developmental defects in O-GlcNAc transferase intellectual disability

Variants in the human β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) gene give rise to an intellectual disability (ID) syndrome termed OGT congenital disorder of glycosylation (OGT-CDG). The mechanisms by which loss of OGT and/or protein O-GlcNAcylation leads to this syndrome are not understood, but symptoms associated with the syndrome suggest a developmental origin. Here, we establish and characterize two lines of mouse embryonic stem cells carrying different patient mutations and show that these mutations lead to disrupted O-GlcNAc homeostasis. Using quantitative proteomics on these cells in the pluripotent state, we identify candidate proteins/pathways that could underpin this syndrome.