Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2025
10:59
Glycomics-Guided Glycoproteomics Facilitates Comprehensive Profiling of the Glycoproteome in Complex Tumor Microenvironments
Published on: February 7, 2025
1.3K
Ångström-resolution imaging of cell-surface glycans
Luciano A Masullo1, Karim Almahayni2,3, Isabelle Pachmayr1
1Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Planegg, Germany.
Nature Nanotechnology
|July 28, 2025
Summary
Researchers visualized individual sugars in cell surface glycans using advanced imaging. This breakthrough offers unprecedented 9 Ångström resolution for studying the cell glycocalyx in optical microscopy.
Area of Science:
- Glycobiology
- Cellular Biology
- Microscopy
Background:
- Glycobiology studies monosaccharides, the building blocks of glycosylation.
- The cell surface glycocalyx is crucial in immunology, oncology, and virology.
- Visualizing the glycocalyx's molecular structure is essential but challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for visualizing individual sugars within glycans on the cell surface.
- To overcome the limitations of existing techniques like mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy.
Main Methods:
- Combined resolution enhancement by sequential imaging with metabolic labeling.
- Enabled visualization of individual sugars within glycans on the cell surface.
Main Results:
- Achieved visualization of the glycocalyx with spatial resolution down to 9 Ångström.
- Obtained high-resolution images of the cell surface glycocalyx using an optical microscope.
Conclusions:
- The developed technique allows unprecedented visualization of the cell surface glycocalyx at the individual sugar level.
- This advancement provides crucial insights into glycosylation function in various biological processes.
