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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Bioinformatics Resources for the Study of Glycan-Mediated Protein Interactions
Published on: January 20, 2022
Just a spoonful of sugar: Short glycans affect protein properties and functions
Claudia Bello1, Paolo Rovero2, Anna Maria Papini1,3
1Laboratory of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff", University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.
Abstract:
Glycosylation has a strong impact on the chemical and physical properties of proteins and on their activity. The heterogeneous nature of this modification complicates the elucidation of the role of each glycan, thus slowing down the progress in glycobiology. Nevertheless, the great advances recently made in protein engineering and in the chemical synthesis, and semisynthesis of glycoproteins are giving impulse to the field, fostering important discoveries. In this review, we report on the findings of the last two decades on the importance that the attachment site, linkage, and composition of short glycans have in affecting protein properties and functions.
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