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Identification of the High Mannose N-Glycan Isomers Undescribed by Conventional Multicellular Eukaryotic Biosynthetic Pathways

Summary

Researchers developed a new method to identify the sugar structures attached to proteins in various foods and organisms. They discovered that many of these sugar structures are different from what scientists previously thought based on standard biological pathways. Using advanced mass spectrometry technology, they created a database to quickly identify these novel sugar structures, which could help better understand how organisms modify their proteins.

Background

N-linked glycosylation is a major post-translational modification in eukaryotes. Current knowledge suggests high mannose N-glycans follow conserved biosynthetic pathways generating specific isomers in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus. However, many N-glycan structures may remain uncharacterized.

Objective

To identify and characterize high mannose N-glycan isomers in various multicellular eukaryotes that are not predicted by conventional biosynthetic pathways. The study aims to develop a comprehensive database for rapid N-glycan isomeric identification beyond canonical pathways.

Results

LODES/MSn identified numerous previously unreported high mannose N-glycan isomers in plantae, animalia, cancer cells, and fungi. A comprehensive database was constructed containing retention times and CID mass spectra for all possible Mann GlcNAc₂ (n=5,6,7) isomers. Many unusual isomers were detected across beef, pork, red bean, mushroom, and cell samples at meaningful abundances.

Conclusion

Many high mannose N-glycans found in non-mutant multicellular eukaryotes cannot be described by conventional biosynthetic pathways, suggesting additional enzymatic pathways are involved. The constructed N-glycan database is valuable for rapid structural identification of high mannose isomers beyond conventional pathways, warranting future investigation of responsible biosynthetic mechanisms.
  • Published in:Analytical Chemistry,
  • Study Type:Analytical Study,
  • Source: PMID: 37235553, DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05599
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