Developments and perspectives in high-throughput protein glycomics: enabling the analysis of thousands of samples

Glycobiology, vol. 32, pp. 651–663

Abstract

Glycans expand the structural complexity of proteins by several orders of magnitude, resulting in a tremendous analytical challenge when including them in biomedical research. Recent glycobiological research is painting a picture in which glycans represent a crucial structural and functional component of the majority of proteins, with alternative glycosylation of proteins and lipids being an important regulatory mechanism in many biological and pathological processes. Since interindividual differences in glycosylation are extensive, large studies are needed to map the structures and to understand the role of glycosylation in human (patho)physiology. Driven by these challenges, methods have emerged, which can tackle the complexity of glycosylation in thousands of samples, also known as high-throughput (HT) glycomics. For facile dissemination and implementation of HT glycomics technology, the sample preparation, analysis, as well as data mining, need to be stable over a long period of time (months/years), amenable to automation, and available to non-specialized laboratories. Current HT glycomics methods mainly focus on protein N-glycosylation and allow to extensively characterize this subset of the human glycome in large numbers of various biological samples. The ultimate goal in HT glycomics is to gain better knowledge and understanding of the complete human glycome using methods that are easy to adapt and implement in (basic) biomedical research. Aiming to promote wider use and development of HT glycomics, here, we present currently available, emerging, and prospective methods and some of their applications, revealing a largely unexplored molecular layer of the complexity of life.

Authors 16

1. Noortje de Haan

   University of Copenhagen

   Affiliation as printed

   Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, University of Copenhagen , Blegdamsvej 3 Copenhagen 2200, Denmark

2. Maja Pučić‐Baković

   Genos (Croatia)

   Affiliation as printed

   Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

3. Mislav Novokmet

   Genos (Croatia)

   Affiliation as printed

   Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

4. David Falck Aachen Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center , Albinusdreef 2, Leiden 2333ZA, The Netherlands

5. Guinevere S. M. Lageveen‐Kammeijer Aachen Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics

   Leiden University Medical Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center , Albinusdreef 2, Leiden 2333ZA, The Netherlands

6. Genadij Razdorov

   Genos (Croatia)

   Affiliation as printed

   Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

7. Frano Vučković

   Genos (Croatia)

   Affiliation as printed

   Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

8. Irena Trbojević‐Akmačić

   Genos (Croatia)

   Affiliation as printed

   Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

9. Olga Gornik

   University of Zagreb

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb , A. Kovacica 1, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

10. Maja Hanić

    Genos (Croatia)

    Affiliation as printed

    Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

11. Manfred Wuhrer corresponding Aachen Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics

    Leiden University Medical Center

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, Leiden University Medical Center , Albinusdreef 2, Leiden 2333ZA, The Netherlands

12. Gordan Lauc corresponding

    University of Zagreb · Genos (Croatia)

    Affiliation as printed

    Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb , A. Kovacica 1, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

    Genos, Glycoscience Research Laboratory , Borongajska cesta 83h, Zagreb 10000, Croatia

13. András Guttman
14. Samia Mora
15. Yoann Rombouts
16. Andad Mehta