Application of Lectin Microarrays for Biomarker Discovery

Abstract

Many proteins in living organisms are glycosylated. As their glycan patterns exhibit protein‐, cell‐, and tissue‐specific heterogeneity, changes in the glycosylation levels could serve as useful indicators of various pathological and physiological states. Thus, the identification of glycoprotein biomarkers from specific changes in the glycan profiles of glycoproteins is a trending field. Lectin microarrays provide a new glycan analysis platform, which enables rapid and sensitive analysis of complex glycans without requiring the release of glycans from the protein. Recent developments in lectin microarray technology enable high‐throughput analysis of glycans in complex biological samples. In this review, we will discuss the basic concepts and recent progress in lectin microarray technology, the application of lectin microarrays in biomarker discovery, and the challenges and future development of this technology. Given the tremendous technical advancements that have been made, lectin microarrays will become an indispensable tool for the discovery of glycoprotein biomarkers.

Changes of Serum IgG Glycosylation Patterns in Primary Biliary Cholangitis Patients

“…Compared with other conventional polysaccharide analysis methods such as mass spectrometry, it enables rapid, high-throughput, and highsensitivity profiling of complex glycan features to directly obtain global glycosylation without the need for liberation of glycans (43,44). Lectin microarray has made important achievements in the study of glycosylation and biomarker identification of tumors and autoimmune diseases (22,45,46). In our study, a total of 207 serum samples were analyzed by lectin microarray.…”

Applications of Protein Microarrays in Biomarker Discovery for Autoimmune Diseases

“…Considering over half of proteins are glycosylated in vivo , the study of glycoproteomic alteration under different physio-pathological states may contribute to the discovery of disease associated biomarkers ( 31 ). Lectins, a group of carbohydrate-binding proteins specific binding different glycans could be used to assemble the lectin microarrays to profile glycosylation in tissues.…”

Resources and Methods for Engineering “Designer” Glycan-Binding Proteins

“…We have provided a summary of applications for engineered GBPs, but this list is by no means extensive—recent advances in glycomic techniques are expanding the known glycans that can be targeted for biotechnological, industrial, or medicinal purposes. In particular, development in laboratory techniques like lectin-arrays are leading to faster discovery of glycan biomarkers in human disease [ 18 ]. The rapidly growing literature on glycan targets has created a need for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic GBPs.…”