Glycans or glycosylations are known to be modification of biomolecules, including lipids, proteins, and low- or high-molecular chemicals. Glycosylations are regulated by glycosyltransferases and their substrates and acceptors, which are affected by cellular conditions, such as differentiation, development, ageing, diseases and individual genetic background. Thus, glycans have been considered as good indicators, “glycobiomarkers”.
In the Glycoscience, new technologies based on engineering in addition to biochemistry and molecular biology promote new findings in medicine. For instances, changes of glycan structures of proteins are common features of cancer cells, associated with carcinogenesis, invasion and metastasis. “Glycomics and Glycoproteomics”, the research of glycans and glycproteins, are emerging fields in the postgenome and postproteomics era.
Dr. Narimatsu was a director of Research Center of Medical Glycoscience at AIST, Japan, and a pioneer of establishing various technologies for glycoscience research. Technologies include, for instances, profiling the expression pattern of glycogenes, profiling glycan structures of glycoproteins, and identifying the glycan structure connected to a target glycoprotein. By using these technologies, the center successfully developed various glycobiomarkers. RCMG Inc. takes over the know-how and applies the strategies to develop novel biomarkers and IVDs. Our current research targets are inflammation, infectious diseases, and cancers, in which alterations of glycans would be detected.
References:
Angata K, Sawaki H, Tsujikawa S, Ocho M, Togayachi A, Narimatsu H.
Glycogene expression profiling of hepatic cells by RNA-Seq analysis for glyco-biomarker identification.
Front Oncol. 2020 Jul 28;10:1224. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01224.
Narimatsu H.
Development of M2BPGi: a novel fibrosis serum glycobiomarker for chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis diagnostics.
Expert Rev Proteomics. 2015;12(6):683-93. doi: 10.1586/14789450.2015.1084874.
Ito H, Kuno A, Sawaki H, Sogabe M, Ozaki H, Tanaka Y, Mizokami M, Shoda J, Angata T, Sato T, Hirabayashi J, Ikehara Y, Narimatsu H.
Strategy for glycoproteomics: identification of glyco-alteration using multiple glycan profiling tools.
J Proteome Res. 2009 Mar;8(3):1358-67. doi: 10.1021/pr800735j.
Narimatsu H, Kaji H, Vakhrushev SY, Clausen H, Zhang H, Noro E, Togayachi A, Nagai- Okatani C, Kuno A, Zou X, Cheng L, Tao SC, Sun Y.
Current technologies for complex glycoproteomics and their applications to biology/disease- driven glycoproteomics.
J Proteome Res. 2018 Dec 7;17(12):4097-4112. doi: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.8b00515.
Narimatsu H, Sawaki H, Kuno A, Kaji H, Ito H, Ikehara Y.
A strategy for discovery of cancer glycobiomarkers in serum using newly developed technologies for glycoproteomics.
FEBS J. 2010 Jan;277(1):95-105. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07430.x.