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Lectins as versatile tools to explore cellular glycosylation

Summary

Lectins are natural proteins that selectively bind to sugars on cell surfaces, discovered over 130 years ago as tools for studying cell chemistry. They have become especially valuable in cancer research, revealing how cancer cells have abnormal sugar patterns that predict how aggressively they spread. Modern biotechnology now allows scientists to create enhanced lectin versions and use them in high-throughput screening to discover new disease markers and improve patient diagnosis.

Background

Lectins are naturally occurring carbohydrate-binding proteins discovered in the late 1880s that have become essential tools for exploring cellular glycosylation. They are ubiquitous in nature and highly selective for their carbohydrate binding partners. Lectin histochemistry has been instrumental in mapping glycosylation patterns in development, health, and disease.

Objective

To review the historical development, applications, and advances in lectin-based technologies for exploring cellular glycosylation. To examine how lectins reveal alterations in glycosylation during cancer development and disease progression. To discuss recent biotechnological advances in recombinant lectins and microarray platforms for sophisticated glycome mapping.

Results

Lectin histochemistry has revealed significant alterations in cellular glycosylation associated with cancer progression, particularly HPA-binding GalNAc glycans and PNA-binding T antigens linked to metastasis and poor prognosis. Recent advances enable engineering of recombinant lectins with enhanced binding properties and development of microarray platforms enabling high-throughput glycomic analysis from complex biological samples.

Conclusion

Lectins remain versatile and accessible tools for mapping glycosylation in health and disease, with significant potential for biomarker identification and early detection. Recent advances in recombinant lectin technology and microarray platforms, combined with traditional histochemistry approaches, herald an expanding future for lectin-based glycobiology research in understanding the ‘sugar code’ of biological systems.
  • Published in:European Journal of Histochemistry,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMC11059468, PMID: 38285057
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