Glycan Microarrays for Decoding the Glycome

Annual Review of Biochemistry

Vol. 80:797-823 (Volume publication date July 2011)
First published online as a Review in Advance on April 6, 2011
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-biochem-061809-152236

Abstract

In the last decade, glycan microarrays have revolutionized the analysis of the specificity of glycan-binding proteins (GBPs), providing information that simultaneously illuminates the biology mediated by them and decodes the informational content of the glycome. Numerous methods have emerged for arraying glycans in a “chip” format, and glycan libraries have been assembled that address the diversity of the human glycome. Such arrays have been successfully used for analysis of GBPs, which mediate mammalian biology, host-pathogen interactions, and immune recognition of glycans relevant to vaccine production and cancer antigens. This review covers the development of glycan microarrays and applications that have provided insights into the roles of mammalian and microbial GBPs.

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