Metabolic Labeling of Bacterial Glycans with Chemical Reporters
Danielle H. Dube
from: Bacterial Glycomics: Current Research, Technology and Applications (Edited by: Christopher W. Reid, Susan M. Twine, and Anne N. Reid). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2012)
Abstract
Though long believed to be absent from bacteria, glycoproteins are now known to be synthesized in a number of bacterial species. Traditional methods to study glycoproteins have revealed fascinating glycan structures that are exclusively found in bacteria and are frequently linked to pathogenesis. In recent years, these methods have been augmented by a complementary approach, termed metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE), to facilitate large scale systematic studies of the entire complement of glycan structures in bacteria, referred to as bacterial glycomics. In MOE, bacterial glycans are metabolically labeled with unique chemical functionalities, called chemical reporters. Labeling bacterial glycans in this manner facilitates glycoprotein detection and enrichment. In addition to enabling glycoprotein profiling, the labeled glycans can undergo selective covalent bond formation, thereby permitting further applications. For example, labeled glycans are poised to disrupt the bacterial surface coat, target bacterial cells with toxins, trap glycan-based host-pathogen interactions, and image dynamic changes in glycosylation. This chapter focuses on MOE methodology, its application to the study of bacterial glycoproteins, and its future role in treating infectious disease read more ...
