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Glycopeptide Capture for Cell Surface Proteomics
Published on: May 9, 2014
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A Single Excitation-Duplexed Imaging Strategy for Profiling Cell Surface Protein-Specific Glycoforms
1State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, P.R. China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|March 23, 2016
Summary
This study introduces a new method for simultaneously imaging two types of sugars on specific cell surface proteins using a single near-infrared light source. This technique allows for detailed visualization and tracking of protein glycosylation patterns.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Glycosylation is a crucial post-translational modification that impacts protein function.
- Current methods for analyzing cell surface protein glycosylation are often limited in scope and specificity.
- Understanding cell surface glycoforms is vital for disease diagnostics and therapeutic development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a site-specific system for simultaneous imaging of multiple monosaccharides on cell surface proteins.
- To enable visualization and quantitative tracking of protein-specific glycoforms using a single excitation source.
- To establish a versatile platform for profiling protein glycosylation patterns in various cell types.
Main Methods:
- Development of a duplexed luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) system utilizing aptamer-modified upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) as donors.
- Employing dual metabolic labeling to attach fluorescent dye acceptors to specific cell surface monosaccharides.
- Utilizing a single near-infrared (NIR) excitation at 980 nm for simultaneous energy transfer and imaging.
- Applying the system to MUC1 as a model protein to visualize distinct glycoforms.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated successful simultaneous imaging of two distinct monosaccharides on MUC1 protein.
- Visualized different MUC1 glycoforms across various cell types.
- Quantitatively tracked the terminal monosaccharide patterns on cell surface proteins.
- Achieved site-specific imaging of protein-bound glycans via parallel LRET processes.
Conclusions:
- The developed duplexed LRET system provides a versatile platform for profiling protein-specific glycoforms.
- This approach enables in situ visualization and quantitative analysis of cell surface glycosylation.
- The findings contribute to understanding the regulatory mechanisms of protein function by glycosylation.

