Glycans News and Research

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Early detection and removal of pancreatic cysts may lower cancer risk: Researchers

Working with researchers from the University of Michigan and Indiana University, Van Andel Research Institute investigators have developed a method that could be used to predict whether pancreatic cysts are benign or are precursors to invasive cancer.

4 Jun 2010

New HPLC-Chip introduced to address N-glycan analysis in biopharmaceutical market

Agilent Technologies Inc. today introduced a new HPLC-Chip to address N-glycan analysis in the emerging biopharmaceutical market.

25 May 2010

Copper-free version of click chemistry crafted to create biomolecular probes

For the first time, the widely used molecular synthesis technique known as click chemistry has been safely applied to a living organism. Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have crafted a unique copper-free version of click chemistry to create biomolecular probes for in vivo studies of live mice. Conventional click chemistry reactions require a copper catalyst that is toxic to cells and organisms.

20 Jan 2010

Recent developments at Burnham Institute for Medical Research

New antibiotics for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other pesky bacteria. Andrei Osterman and collaborators have used comparisons of bacterial genomes to identify new targets for antibiotics and produced first-generation chemical inhibitors of a class of bacterial enzymes, called NadDs (nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferases).

17 Nov 2009

Specialized glycans act as tumor suppressors

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that specialized complex sugar molecules (glycans) that anchor cells into place act as tumor suppressors in breast and prostate cancers.

6 Jul 2009

Carbohydrate-based medicine

Scientists from Germany today reported a major advance toward opening the doors of a carbohydrate-based medicine chest for the 21st Century.

22 Mar 2009

First-ever glimpse of the cell-wall structure in three dimensions

The bacterial cell wall that is the target of potent antibiotics such as penicillin is actually made up of a thin single layer of carbohydrate chains, linked together by peptides, which wrap around the bacterium like a belt around a person, according to research conducted by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

17 Nov 2008

Systems biology and glycomics used to study human inflammatory diseases

An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.

28 Oct 2008

Ashwell receptor plays key role in reducing coagulation abnormalities during infection and sepsis

In research that solves the longest-standing mystery in glycobiology - a field that studies complex sugar chains called glycans - researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a molecule in the liver of all animals, called the Ashwell receptor, is critical in helping the body fight off the abnormal and lethal blood clotting caused by bacterial infection.

19 May 2008

New sugary insights into H5N1 avian flu virus

Scientists have identified a key factor that determines the ability of influenza viruses to infect cells of the human upper respiratory tract - a necessary step for sustaining spread between people.

7 Jan 2008

Sperm's immune-protection properties could provide link to how cancers spread

Sugar-based markers on human sperm cells which may prevent them from being attacked by the female immune system could provide a vital clue to how some cancers spread in the human body, according to new research published on 14 December 2007.

14 Dec 2007

Potential new cancer diagnosis and treatment options

By recognizing sugars, a technique developed by University of Michigan analytical chemist Kristina Hakansson sets the stage for new cancer diagnosis and treatment options.

2 Apr 2007

Emergence of a human-adapted H5 virus is a clear threat to public health worldwide

The H5N1 avian influenza virus, commonly known as "bird flu," is a highly contagious and deadly disease in poultry. So far, its spread to humans has been limited, with 177 documented severe infections, and nearly 100 deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Iraq, and Turkey as of March 14, 2006, according to the World Health Organization.

21 Mar 2006

Molecular link between high fat diets and type 2 diabetes established

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a molecular link between a high-fat, Western-style diet, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. In studies in mice, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet disrupts insulin production, resulting in the classic signs of type 2 diabetes.

29 Dec 2005

Gut antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for Crohn's disease

A collaboration led by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found that an antibody which binds to an unusual sugar molecule residing in the gut halts the inflammation seen in Crohn's disease and other intestinal inflammations. The antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for these common chronic intestinal disorders.

9 Oct 2005

Valuable clues for rational antimalarial drug design and vaccine development

By determining the molecular structure of a protein that enables malaria parasites to invade red blood cells, researchers have uncovered valuable clues for rational antimalarial drug design and vaccine development. The findings are reported in the July 29 issue of the journal Cell.

28 Jul 2005

Scientists solve structure of a critical innate immune system protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have solved the structure of a crucial human immune system molecule called TLR3, an acronym for Toll-like receptor three. In an upcoming issue of the journal Science, the protein is described as a large horseshoe-shaped coil composed of 23 leucine-rich repeats (LRRs).

27 Jun 2005

Available lines of human embryonic stem cells have been contaminated

Currently available lines of human embryonic stem cells have been contaminated with a non-human molecule that compromises their potential therapeutic use in human subjects, according to research by investigators at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

24 Jan 2005

New technology will advance our understanding of role of complex sugar chains decorating the surface of cells in the body

An international consortium of scientists lead by Dr. James Paulson of The Scripps Research Institute has created a technology that will advance our understanding of the role of complex sugar chains (glycans or carbohydrates) that decorate the surface of cells in the body.

8 Dec 2004

Scientists discover the body's own defense against H.Pylori, the cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancer

An international team led by The Burnham Institute's Minoru Fukuda, Ph.D., has discovered that a human glycoprotein inhibits Helicobacter pylori ("H. pylori"), the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and is linked with 90% of stomach cancers.

13 Aug 2004