Glycoconjugate Journal

The international Glycoconjugate organization awards

The International Glycoconjugate Organization Awards

Glyco25, XXV International Symposium on Glycoconjugates

“Stuck on sugars – how carbohydrates regulate cell adhesion, recognition, and signaling” Abstract We have explored the fundamental biological processes by which complex carbohydrates expressed on cellular glycoproteins and glycolipids and in secretions of cells promote cell adhesion and signaling. We have also explored processes by which animal pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites adhere to glycans of animal cells and initiate disease. Glycans important in cell signaling and adhesion, such as key O-glycans, are essential for proper animal development and cellular differentiation, but they are also involved in many pathogenic processes, including inflammation, tumorigenesis and metastasis, and microbial and parasitic pathogenesis. The overall hypothesis guiding these studies is that glycoconjugates are recognized and bound by a growing class of proteins called glycan-binding proteins (GBPs or lectins) expressed by all types of cells. There is an incredible variety and diversity of GBPs in animal cells involved in binding N- and O-glycans, glycosphingolipids, and proteoglycan/glycosaminoglycans. We have specifically studied such molecular determinants recognized by selectins, galectins, and many other C-type lectins, involved in leukocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation in human tissues, lymphocyte trafficking, adhesion of human viruses to human cells, structure and immunogenicity of glycoproteins on the surfaces of human parasites. We have also explored the molecular basis of glycoconjugate biosynthesis by exploring the enzymes and molecular chaperones required for correct protein glycosylation. From these studies opportunities for translational biology have arisen, involving production of function-blocking antibodies, anti-glycan specific antibodies, and synthetic glycoconjugates, e.g. glycosulfopeptides, that specifically are recognized by GBPs. This invited short review is based in part on my presentation for the IGO Award 2019 given by the International Glycoconjugate Organization in Milan.

Expanding our understanding of the role of microbial glycoproteomes through high-throughput mass spectrometry approaches Abstract Protein glycosylation is increasingly recognised as an essential requirement for effective microbial infections. Within microbial pathogen’s protein glycosylation is used for both defensive and offensive purposes; enabling pathogens to fortify themselves against the host immune response or to disarm the host’s ability to resist infection. Although microbial protein glycosylation systems have been recognised for nearly two decades only recently has the true extend of protein glycosylation within microbes begun to be appreciated. A key enabler for this conceptual shift has been the development and application of modern approaches for the characterisation of glycosylation. Over the last decade my research has focused on the development of proteomic tools to probe microbial glycosylation. By developing workflows for glycopeptide enrichment and identification we have demostrated that it is now possible to characterise the glycoproteomes of microbial species in a truely high-throughput manner. Using these high-throughput approaches we have shown a number of bacterial species modify multiple proteins including members of the Campylobacter genus and the pathogens A. baumannii, R. solanacearum and B. cenocepacia. These studies have established that bacterial glycosylation is widespread, that glycan microheterogeneity is common place and that an extensive array of glycans are used to decorate protein compared to Eukaryotic glycosylation systems. Excitingly these approaches developed to characterise O- and N-linked bacterial glycosylation systems are equally amenable to studying newly discovered forms of microbial glycosylation such as Arginine glycosylation as well as glycosylation within the parasitic eukaryotic organisms T. gondii and P. falciparum. This work demonstrates that MS approaches can now be considered an indispensable tool for the elucidation and tracking of microbial glycosylation events.

Gangliosides profiling in serum of breast cancer patient: GM3 as a potential diagnostic biomarker Abstract Gangliosides altered during the pathological conditions and particularly in cancers. Here, we aimed to profile the gangliosides in breast cancer serum and propose potential biomarkers. LC-FTMS method was first used to identify all the ganglioside species in serum, then LC-MS/MS-MRM method was employed to quantitate the levels of gangliosides in serum from healthy volunteers and patients with benign breast tumor or breast cancer. 49 ganglioside species were determined, including GM1, GM2, GM3, GD1, GD3 and GT1 species. Compared to healthy volunteers, the levels of GM1, GM2, GM3, GD1 and GD3 displayed a rising trend in breast cancer patients. In particular, as the major glycosphingolipid component, GM3 showed excellent diagnostic accuracy in cancer serum (AUC > 0.9). PCA profile of the GM3 species showed clear distinction between normal and cancer serum. What’s more, ROC curve proved great diagnostic accuracy of GM3 between cancer and benign serum. In addition, GM3 was discovered as a diagnostic marker to differentiate luminal B subtype from other subtypes. Furthermore, a positive correlation between GM3 and Ki-67 status of patients was identified. In conclusion, our results introduced the alteration patterns of serum gangliosides in breast cancer and suggested serum GM3 as a potential diagnostic biomarker in breast cancer diagnosis and luminal B subtype distinction.

Organocatalyzed preparation of 1,4,5-trisubstituted-glycosyl-1,2,3-triazole derivatives Abstract Organocatalytic coupling of glycosyl azides with enolates of active ketones and esters through azide-enolate [3 + 2] cycloaddition in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) furnished 1,4,5-trisubstituted-glycosyl-1,2,3-triazole derivatives in excellent yield. The reaction condition is simple and can be scaled-up. Graphical abstract Coupling of glycosyl azides with active ketones through azide-enolate [3 + 2] cycloaddition in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) furnished 1,4,5-trisubstituted-glycosyl-1,2,3-triazole derivatives in excellent yield.

Anionic and zwitterionic moieties as widespread glycan modifications in non-vertebrates Abstract Glycan structures in non-vertebrates are highly variable; it can be assumed that this is a product of evolution and speciation, not that it is just a random event. However, in animals and protists, there is a relatively limited repertoire of around ten monosaccharide building blocks, most of which are neutral in terms of charge. While two monosaccharide types in eukaryotes (hexuronic and sialic acids) are anionic, there are a number of organic or inorganic modifications of glycans such as sulphate, pyruvate, phosphate, phosphorylcholine, phosphoethanolamine and aminoethylphosphonate that also confer a ‘charged’ nature (either anionic or zwitterionic) to glycoconjugate structures. These alter the physicochemical properties of the glycans to which they are attached, change their ionisation when analysing them by mass spectrometry and result in different interactions with protein receptors. Here, we focus on N-glycans carrying anionic and zwitterionic modifications in protists and invertebrates, but make some reference to O-glycans, glycolipids and glycosaminoglycans which also contain such moieties. The conclusion is that ‘charged’ glycoconjugates are a widespread, but easily overlooked, feature of ‘lower’ organisms.

Fluorine-modified sialyl-Tn-CRM197 vaccine elicits a robust immune response Abstract Even though a vaccine that targets tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens on epithelial carcinoma cells presents an attractive therapeutic approach, relatively poor immunogenicity limits its development. In this study, we investigated the immunological activity of a fluoro-substituted Sialyl-Tn (F-STn) analogue coupled to the non-toxic cross-reactive material of diphtheria toxin197 (CRM197). Our results indicate that F-STn-CRM197 promotes a greater immunogenicity than non-fluorinated STn-CRM197. In the presence or absence of adjuvant, F-STn-CRM197 remarkably enhances both cellular and humoral immunity against STn by increasing antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferation and inducing a mixed Th1/Th2 response leading to production of IFN-γ and IL-4 cytokines, as well as STn-specific antibodies. Furthermore, antisera produced from F-STn-CRM197 immunization significantly recognizes STn-positive tumor cells and increases cancer cell lysis induced by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) or complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) pathways. Our data suggest that this F-STn vaccine may be useful for cancer immunotherapy and possibly for prophylactic prevention of cancer.

Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 is a histological marker reflecting the malignant behavior of prostate cancer Abstract Stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4), a specific marker for pluripotent stem cells, plays an important role in the malignant behavior of several cancers. Here, SSEA-4 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody RM1 specific to SSEA-4 in 181 and 117 prostate cancer (PC) specimens obtained by biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP), respectively. The relationships between SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells or the presence of SSEA-4-positive tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) and clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells was significantly associated with Gleason score, local progression, and lymph node and distant metastasis. In RP specimens, high SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells and the presence of SSEA-4-positive TICs were significant predictors of pT3, i.e., invasion and worse biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP, respectively, in univariate analysis. In contrast, combination of high SSEA-4 expression in cancer cells and the presence of SSEA-4-positive TICs was an independent predictor for pT3 and BCR in multivariate analysis. Biologically this combination was also independently associated with suppression of apoptosis. Thus, the co-expression of SSEA-4 in cancer cells and TICs may have crucial roles in the malignant aggressiveness and prognosis of PC. Invasive potential and suppression of apoptosis may be linked to SSEA-4 expression.