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Spatial Molecular Imaging of the Glycome Using Mass Spectrometry
Published on: November 28, 2025
662
Visualizing glycans on single cells and tissues-Visualizing glycans on single cells and tissues
Ben Ovryn1, Jie Li1, Senlian Hong1
1Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA 92037, United States.
Current Opinion in Chemical Biology
|June 5, 2017
Summary
Metabolic oligosaccharide engineering and chemoenzymatic glycan labeling offer new ways to visualize glycans. These advanced techniques enable detailed imaging of glycans in cells and tissues for biological research.
Area of Science:
- Carbohydrate Chemistry
- Molecular Imaging
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Glycans play crucial roles in biological processes.
- Studying glycans in their native environments is challenging.
- Metabolic and chemoenzymatic methods offer solutions for glycan analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advancements in metabolic oligosaccharide engineering and chemoenzymatic glycan labeling.
- To highlight innovative approaches for glycan imaging.
- To discuss the adaptation of quantitative cell biology imaging methods for glycan analysis.
Main Methods:
- Metabolic oligosaccharide engineering for incorporating unnatural sugars.
- Chemoenzymatic glycan labeling for specific detection.
- Adaptation of advanced imaging techniques (e.g., fluorescence microscopy, mass spectrometry imaging).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated successful application of novel glycan imaging strategies.
- Showcased the ability to visualize glycans at the single-cell level.
- Validated the adaptation of cutting-edge imaging methods for glycan studies.
Conclusions:
- Metabolic and chemoenzymatic tools are powerful for studying glycans.
- Glycan imaging is advancing rapidly with innovative techniques.
- These methods are applicable to diverse biological samples, including tissues and single cells.
