Glycome as biomarkers

Abstract

Glycomics is the comprehensive study of all glycans expressed in biological systems. Despite the fact that many routinely used biomarkers are either glycans of glycoconjugates, glycomic approaches to discover novel biomarkers are just on the rise. Routinely used glycan biomarkers have been developed using traditional immunological techniques and monoclonal antibody technology. Recent progress in the development of analytical methodologies and strategies has enabled new biomarker discovery programs. Glycosylation is found on cell surfaces and in extracellular matrices creating the initial point of contact in cellular interactions to mediate cell-cell interactions, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, and cell signaling. Thus, glycosylation is believed to be highly sensitive to the biological environment and has been implicated in various diseases including cancer. In this chapter, established glycan-related biomarkers as well as recently identified biomarker candidates are viewed. Glycomic techniques employed to identify those biomarkers are also reviewed.