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Review
. 2009 Dec;13(5-6):601-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.08.015. Epub 2009 Sep 21.

Glycomics and disease markers

Hyun Joo An  1 , Scott R Kronewitter, Maria Lorna A de Leoz, Carlito B Lebrilla
Affiliations
Review

Glycomics and disease markers

Hyun Joo An et al. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Glycomics is the comprehensive study of all glycans expressed in biological systems. The biosynthesis of glycan relies on a number of highly competitive processes involving glycosyl transferases. Glycosylation is therefore highly sensitive to the biochemical environment and has been implicated in many diseases including cancer. Recently, interest in profiling the glycome has increased owing to the potential of glycans for disease markers. In this regard, mass spectrometry is emerging as a powerful technique for profiling the glycome. Global glycan profiling of human serum based on mass spectrometry has already led to several potentially promising markers for several types of cancer and diseases.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The common features of glycan processing are illustrated here. The common categories are listed on the left and the different methods implemented are on the right. Depending on the nature of the samples used, some of the steps were not always needed. The order of procedures had some variability as well.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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