RCL glycosylation of serum corticosteroid-binding globulin: implications in cortisol delivery and septic shock

Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) is a serum glycoprotein that binds and delivers anti-inflammatory cortisol to inflammatory sites through neutrophil elastase-mediated proteolysis of an exposed reactive centre loop (RCL) on CBG. Timely and tissue-specific delivery of cortisol is critical to alleviate inflammation including in life-threatening septic shock conditions. Herein, we firstly summarise our recently published report of functional RCL O- and N-glycosylation events of serum CBG (Chernykh, J Biol Chem, 2023). A key finding of that published work was the LC-MS/MS-based discovery of RCL O-glycans at Thr342 and Thr345 of serum CBG and their inhibitory roles in neutrophil elastase-mediated RCL proteolysis. While these observations are of significance as they implicate RCL O-glycosylation as a potential regulator of cortisol delivery, the link to septic shock remains unexplored. To this end, we used a similar LC-MS/MS approach to profile the RCL O-glycosylation of CBG purified from serum of twelve septic shock patients. Serum CBG from all patients exhibited RCL O-glycosylation comprising (di)sialyl T (NeuAc1-2Gal1GalNAc1) core 1-type O-glycan structures decorating exclusively the Thr342 site. Importantly, relative to less severe cases, individuals presenting with the most severe illness displayed elevated RCL O-glycosylation upon ICU admission, suggesting a previously unknown link to septic shock severity. Overall, we have elucidated the coordinated RCL N- and O-glycosylation events of serum CBG, which improve our understanding of molecular mechanisms governing the timely and tissue-specific delivery of cortisol to inflammatory sites. This work provides clues to molecular aberrations and disease mechanisms underpinning septic shock.