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Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Targeting Cysteine Thiols for in Vitro Site-specific Glycosylation of Recombinant Proteins
Published on: October 4, 2017
The role of O-glycosylation in human disease
Ana Magalhães1, Henrique O Duarte1, Celso A Reis2
1i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; IPATIMUP - Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
O-glycosylation is a highly frequent post-translation modification of proteins, with important functional implications in both physiological and disease contexts. The biosynthesis of O-glycans depends on several layers of regulation of the cellular glycosylation machinery, being organ-, tissue- and cell-specific. This review provides insights on the molecular mechanism underlying O-glycan biosynthesis and modification, and highlights illustrative examples of diseases that are triggered or modulated by aberrant cellular O-glycosylation. Particular relevance is given to genetic disorders of glycosylation, infectious diseases and cancer. Finally, we address the potential of O-glycans and their biosynthetic pathways as targets for novel therapeutic strategies.
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