Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

A Lectin HPLC Method to Enrich Selectively-glycosylated Peptides from Complex Biological Samples
Published on: October 1, 2009
Recognition of Complex Core-Fucosylated N-Glycans by a Mini Lectin
Aurore Cabanettes1, Lukas Perkams2, Carolina Spies2
1Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CERMAV, 38000, Grenoble, France.
Abstract:
The mini fungal lectin PhoSL was recombinantly produced and characterized. Despite a length of only 40 amino acids, PhoSL exclusively recognizes N-glycans with α1,6-linked fucose. Core fucosylation influences the intrinsic properties and bioactivities of mammalian N-glycoproteins and its level is linked to various cancers. Thus, PhoSL serves as a promising tool for glycoprofiling. Without structural precedence, the crystal structure was solved using the zinc anomalous signal, and revealed an interlaced trimer creating a novel protein fold termed β-prism III. Three biantennary core-fucosylated N-glycan azides of 8 to 12 sugars were cocrystallized with PhoSL. The resulting highly resolved structures gave a detailed view on how the exclusive recognition of α1,6-fucosylated N-glycans by such a small protein occurs. This work also provided a protein consensus motif for the observed specificity as well as a glimpse into N-glycan flexibility upon binding.
Related Concept Videos
The Nucleosome Core Particle
The paradox
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their main responsibility is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. While on the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access DNA...
The Nucleosome Core Particle
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their primary aim is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. On the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access histone-bound DNA during...
Protein Complex Assembly
Many viruses self-assemble into a fully functional unit using the infected host cell to...
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
Complex Numbers
Formation of Complex Ions

