Biochimica et biophysica acta
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Aug 2016
Towards personalized diagnostics via longitudinal study of the human plasma N-glycome.
Facilitated by substantial advances in analytical methods, plasma N-glycans have emerged as potential candidates for biomarkers. In the recent years, several investigations could link aberrant plasma N-glycosylation to numerous diseases. However, due to often limited specificity and sensitivity, only a very limited number of glycan biomarkers were approved by the authorities up to now. ⋯ It is shown, that the plasma N-glycome of an individual is remarkably stable over a period of several years, and that observed small longitudinal changes are independent from seasons, but significantly correlated with lifestyle and environmental factors. Thus, the potential of future longitudinal biomarker discovery studies could be demonstrated, which is a further step towards personalized diagnostics. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Aug 2016
UniCarbKB: New database features for integrating glycan structure abundance, compositional glycoproteomics data, and disease associations.
UniCarbKB aims to provide a resource for the representation of mammalian glycobiology knowledge by providing a curated database of structural and experimental data, supported by a web application that allows users to easily find and view richly annotated information. The database comprises two levels of annotation (i) global-specific data of oligosaccharides released and characterised from single purified glycoproteins and (ii) information pertaining to site-specific glycan heterogeneity. Additional, contextual information is provided including structural, bibliographic, and taxonomic information for each entry. ⋯ Continuing advancements in analytical technologies and new data types are advancing disease-related glycomics. It is increasingly necessary to ensure all the data are comprehensively annotated. UniCarbKB was established with the mission of providing a resource for human glycobiology by capturing a wide range of data with corresponding annotations. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Aug 2016
Glycoblotting method allows for rapid and efficient glycome profiling of human Alzheimer's disease brain, serum and cerebrospinal fluid towards potential biomarker discovery.
Understanding of the significance of posttranslational glycosylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is of growing importance for the investigation of the pathogenesis of AD as well as discovery research of the disease-specific serum biomarkers. ⋯ The changes in the expression levels of the glycans derived from the human post-mortem samples uncovered by the standardized glycoblotting method provides potential serum biomarkers in central nervous system disorders and can contribute to the insight into the molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and future drug discovery. Most importantly, the present preliminary trials using human post-mortem samples of AD patients suggest that large-scale serum glycomics cohort by means of various-types of human AD patients as well as the normal control sera can facilitate the discovery research of highly sensitive and reliable serum biomarkers for an early diagnosis of AD. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Aug 2016
Glyco-genes change expression in cancer through aberrant methylation.
Most eukaryotic proteins are modified by covalent addition of glycan molecules that considerably influence their function. Aberrant glycosylation is profoundly involved in malignant transformation, tumor progression and metastasis. Some glycan structures are tumor-specific and reflect disturbed glycan biosynthesis pathways. ⋯ Methylation status in promoters of candidate glyco-genes might serve as prognostic markers for specific tumors and point to potential novel targets for epigenetic drugs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc.
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Biochim. Biophys. Acta · Aug 2016
Enrichment of hydrophobic membrane proteins using Triton X-114 and subsequent analysis of their N-glycosylation.
Numerous proteins depend on correct glycosylation for their proper function and nearly all membrane, as well as secreted, proteins are glycosylated. Glycosylation of membrane proteins plays a crucial role in many processes including the intercellular recognition and intermolecular interactions on the cell surface. The composition of N-glycans attached to membrane proteins has not been sufficiently studied due to the lack of efficient and reproducible analytical methods. ⋯ The simple method was successfully optimised to generate reliable HILIC-UPLC profiles of N-glycans released from membrane proteins. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc.