Glycan in Gastroenterology

Creative Biolabs provides comprehensive antibody development services against glycans including polyclonal and monoclonal antibody from immunogen synthesis to antibody purification. Our services include epitope prediction, antigen synthesize, antibody production and purification from cell culture, ascites fluid or whole serum. Importantly, we can produce an antibody within a short term.

Introduction

Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine related to the digestive system and its disorders. Diseases in the gastrointestinal tract, which include the organs from mouth to anus, along the alimentary canal, are the focus of this field. Numerous gastrointestinal pathogens interact with the gut mucosa by recognizing glycan structures. One example is the cholera toxin, which binds Lewis type glycans in the stomach mucosa. A possible therapy method is using soluble glycan inhibitors to block the attachment of these gut pathogens currently. For example, a known treatment for peptic ulcer disease was a combination of antacids and milk (which contains large amounts of free sialyloligosaccharides). In addition, the variety and high concentrations of free glycans in human milk also can inhibit the gut pathogens to bind to the infant mucosa.

Fig.1 Mechanism of the pathogenesis of bacterial infections.^{1, 2}

The Role of Glycans in Gastroenterology

Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) often attributes to the enteric loss of plasma proteins. Some patients with congenital disorder of glycosylation type Ib and CDG-Ic develop PLE, suggesting the involvement of N-glycosylation. In both the N-glycosylation disorders and post-Fontan patients, Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSP) is lost from the basolateral surface of intestinal epithelial cells and returns when PLE subsides. HSP binds cytokines and its loss may enhance the impact of inflammation at the cell surface and increase leakage. Combining increased venous pressure and cytokines along with localized HSP depletion will alleviate disease.

Fig.2 Schematic representation of lectin-glycan interactions in bacterial pathogenesis.^{1, 2}

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease typically affecting the superficial epithelial layer of the rectum and the distal colon. The primary mechanism of the disease is unknown, but both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the process. Generally, colonic mucosal proteins are O-acetylated with sialic acids, but these acetyl groups are lost in ulcerative colitis. Whether this contributes to the pathology is unknown, but these modified sialic acids are more resistant to bacterial sialidases. Besides, some data suggest that heparin treatments can improve the symptoms to some degree.

What Can We Do for You?

As we all known, various human diseases are caused or influenced by glycan synthesis or recognition in the body. The characterization of glycan is a meaningful step to obtain diagnosis results. As a leader specialized in custom antibody development services, Creative Biolabs provides high-quality anti-carbohydrate antibodies including monoclonal antibodies, polyclonal antibodies for the diseases in gastroenterology. In addition, we also provide customized services to meet every client's demands. To get more information and a detailed quote, please feel free to contact us.

References:

1. Cho, Seung-Hak, Jun-young Park, and Cheorl-Ho Kim. "Systemic lectin-glycan interaction of pathogenic enteric bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23.3 (2022): 1451.
2. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.