Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026
11:36
Glycan Node Analysis: A Bottom-up Approach to Glycomics
Published on: May 22, 2016
Historical overview of glycoanalysis
1Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|November 3, 2009
Summary
Glycosylation, a key protein modification, impacts cell interactions and therapeutics. This review covers historical and modern glycan analysis techniques for understanding glycan structure and function.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Glycoscience
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Over 50% of human proteins undergo glycosylation, a critical post-translational modification.
- Glycans mediate essential biological processes, including cell-cell adhesion and host-pathogen interactions.
- The global market for glycoprotein and carbohydrate-based therapeutics exceeds $20 billion.
Observation:
- Glycomics requires robust analytical methods to link glycan structure with biological function.
- Traditional and novel derivatization methods are crucial for glycan analysis.
- Monosaccharide composition analysis is foundational for understanding glycan structure-function relationships.
Findings:
- Chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques are integral to glycoanalytical workflows.
- Mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance provide complementary glycan characterization.
- Microarrays are emerging as potent tools for dynamic glycan expression analysis.
Implications:
- Accurate glycan analysis is vital for developing new therapeutics and understanding disease.
- Advancements in glycoanalysis techniques will drive innovation in glycobiology.
- Understanding glycan expression dynamics is key to deciphering complex biological systems.
More Related Videos
09:54Identification and Characterization of Protein Glycosylation using Specific Endo- and Exoglycosidases
Published on: December 26, 2011
08:49Printed Glycan Array: A Sensitive Technique for the Analysis of the Repertoire of Circulating Anti-carbohydrate Antibodies in Small Animals
Published on: February 14, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:25Protein Glycosylation
Glycosylation, the most common post-translational modification for proteins, serves diverse functions. Adding sugars to proteins makes the proteins more resistant to proteolytic digestion. Glycosylated proteins can act as markers and receptors to promote cell-cell adhesion. Additionally, they have many essential quality control functions in the cell, such as correct protein folding and facilitating transport of misfolded proteins to the cytosol, which can be degraded.
Glycosylation occurs in...
Glycosylation occurs in...
01:24Oligosaccharide Assembly
Protein glycosylation starts in the ER lumen and continues in the Golgi apparatus. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the addition of sugar molecules or glycosylation of proteins. Usually, these enzymes add sugars to the hydroxyl groups of selected serine or threonine residues to form O-linked glycans or the amino groups of asparagine residues to form N-linked glycans. Different positions on the same polypeptide chain can contain differently linked glycans.
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
01:21Glycolysis: Preparatory Phase
In cellular metabolism (the complete breakdown of glucose to extract energy), glycolysis is the first step. Glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Glucose enters heterotrophic cells in two ways. One method is through secondary active transport, where the transport takes place against the glucose concentration gradient. The other mechanism uses a group of integral proteins called GLUT proteins, also known as glucose transporter proteins. These...
00:56What is Glycolysis?
Overview
Cells make energy by breaking down macromolecules. Cellular respiration is the biochemical process that converts "food energy" (from the chemical bonds of macromolecules) into chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The first step of this tightly regulated and intricate process is glycolysis. The word glycolysis originates from the Latin glyco (sugar) and lysis (breakdown). Glycolysis serves two main intracellular functions: generating ATP and generating...
Cells make energy by breaking down macromolecules. Cellular respiration is the biochemical process that converts "food energy" (from the chemical bonds of macromolecules) into chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The first step of this tightly regulated and intricate process is glycolysis. The word glycolysis originates from the Latin glyco (sugar) and lysis (breakdown). Glycolysis serves two main intracellular functions: generating ATP and generating...
01:05Proteoglycans
Glycans, a class of complex heterogeneous molecules, can be covalently attached to proteins to form glycosylated proteins that regulate various physiological and pathological processes. Glycosylated proteins or glycoproteins comprise N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides. O-glycosylation is the most common type of protein glycosylation. Here, glycans attach to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl groups of Serine or Threonine residues. O-linked glycosylation occurs later in protein processing,...