Identification of Polylactosamine Carrier Glycoprotein and Its Molecular Function

Abstract

Polylactosamine (pLN) is a basic structure of glycan in glycoproteins and glycolipids. The pLN structure itself is a functional carbohydrate antigen that acts as an endogenous lectin ligand. Various functional glycan epitopes are also known to be formed on pLN structures. Therefore, pLN glycan is believed to directly or indirectly regulate various molecular functions by interacting between glycan and lectin. To elucidate the biological function of pLN glycan, carrier glycoproteins of pLN glycan were identified using a newly developed glycoproteomics technique known as the Glyco-RIDGE (GR) method. As a result, many pLN carrier glycoproteins in HL-60 cells were identified. Enrichment analysis with gene ontology revealed that the pLN carrier glycoproteins contained many molecules related to signal transduction and other mechanisms. The biological functions of pLN glycan can be further elucidated by analyzing the carrier glycoproteins using the GR method.