The Overlooked PTM: Making Glycosylation More Accessible to Researchers

Of all the protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), glycosylation is one of the most common, with half of all mammalian proteins estimated to be glycoproteins [1]. Protein glycosylation, or the attachment of glycans to amino acids on a protein, impacts protein function, stability, and cellular communication.

While protein glycosylation is ubiquitous in normal cellular systems, dysregulated glycosylation of key proteins has been linked to diseases such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. In cancer specifically, altered glycosylation contributes to disease initiation and progression by regulating processes including “malignant transformation, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune escape” [2]. Glycosylation is therefore an important focus in the research and development of therapeutic strategies for these conditions. Despite its broad relevance across research areas, the inherent heterogeneity of glycosylation—and the lack of tailor-made analytical tools—continues to make it challenging to study.

Glycobiology Tools from Vector Laboratories

To bridge the gap between functional proteomics and glycomics, Vector Laboratories developed a suite of tools including purified lectins, Glysite™ Scout Glycan Screening Kits, and the Glysite™ Explorer in situ PLA Glycan Detection Kit, built to make protein glycosylation analysis more accessible to researchers.

Lectins

Lectins are powerful, specific tools for probing glycans in complex biological systems. All lectins from Vector are highly purified and quality-controlled for reliable performance in applications like IHC, IF, blotting, and more.

Glysite™ Scout Glycan Screening Kit

For preliminary screening of tissue samples with unknown glycosylation changes, Glysite™ Scout is a fully integrated kit with a diverse panel of curated lectins and reagents that provides researchers a streamlined approach to exploring glycans in virtually all tissue types.

Glysite™ Explorer in situ PLA Glycan Detection Kit

For orthogonal validation of glycan-mediated protein targets, the Glysite™ Explorer Kit and Lectins provide a single workflow for visualizing protein target and glycans in proximity. Researchers can go beyond protein expression and reveal protein glycosylation in spatial context in FFPE cells and tissues with Glysite Explorer.

Conclusion

The complexity of PTMs like protein glycosylation is an inherent barrier to understanding biological systems more completely. More research is needed to elucidate the effect of glycosylation on the mechanisms of disease development, diagnostic impact, and therapeutic outcomes. Vector Laboratories brings protein glycosylation to researchers at all levels of glycobiology experience through our suite of glycobiology tools. Explore our glycobiology resources, including brochures and scientific posters, to learn more.

References

1. Apweiler, R., Hermjakob, H., & Sharon, N. (1999). On the frequency of protein glycosylation, as deduced from analysis of the SWISS-PROT database. Biochimica et biophysica acta, 1473(1), 4–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0304-4165(99)00165-8
2. Ren, X., Lin, S., Guan, F., & Kang, H. (2024). Glycosylation Targeting: A Paradigm Shift in Cancer Immunotherapy. International journal of biological sciences, 20(7), 2607–2621. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.93806