Quantitative levels of serum N-glycans in type 1 diabetes and their association with kidney disease.

We investigated associations of quantitative levels of N-glycans with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), renal function and renal function decline in type 1 diabetes. We measured 46 total N-glycan peaks (GPs) on 1565 serum samples from the Scottish Diabetes Research Network Type 1 Bioresource Study (SDRNT1BIO) and a pool of healthy donors. Quantitation of absolute abundance of each GP used 2AB-labeled mannose-3 as a standard.

Characterisation of the main PSA glycoforms in aggressive prostate cancer.

Serum levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) are commonly used for prostate cancer (PCa) detection. However, their lack of specificity to distinguish benign prostate pathologies from PCa, or indolent from aggressive PCa have prompted the study of new non-invasive PCa biomarkers. Aberrant glycosylation is involved in neoplastic progression and specific changes in PSA glycosylation pattern, as the reduction in the percentage of α2,6-sialic acid (SA) are associated with PCa aggressiveness.

Serum N-glycan analysis in breast cancer patients--Relation to tumour biology and clinical outcome.

Glycosylation and related processes play important roles in cancer development and progression, including metastasis. Several studies have shown that N-glycans have potential diagnostic value as cancer serum biomarkers. We have explored the significance of the abundance of particular serum N-glycan structures as important features of breast tumour biology by studying the serum glycome and tumour transcriptome (mRNA and miRNA) of 104 breast cancer patients.

Association of N-glycosylation with breast carcinoma and systemic features using high-resolution quantitative UPLC.

An improved separation of the human serum N-glycome using hydrophilic interaction chromatography technology with UPLC is described, where more than 140 N-glycans were assigned. Using this technique, serum samples from 107 healthy controls and 62 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were profiled. The most statistically significant alterations were observed in cancer patients compared with healthy controls: an increase in sialylation, branching, and outer-arm fucosylation and a decrease in high-mannosylated and biantennary core-fucosylated glycans.