Novel fluorescent glycan microarray strategy reveals ligands for galectins

Chem Biol. 2009 Jan 30;16(1):36-47. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2008.11.004.

Abstract

Galectin-1 (Gal-1) and galectin-3 (Gal-3) are widely expressed galectins with immunoregulatory functions in animals. To explore their glycan specificity, we developed microarrays of naturally occurring glycans using a bifunctional fluorescent linker, 2-amino-N-(2-aminoethyl)-benzamide (AEAB), directly conjugated through its arylamine group by reductive amination to free glycans to form glycan-AEABs (GAEABs). Glycans from natural sources were used to prepare over 200 GAEABs, which were purified by multidimensional high-pressure liquid chromatography and covalently immobilized onto N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated glass slides via their free alkylamine. Fluorescence-based screening demonstrated that Gal-1 recognizes a wide variety of complex N-glycans, whereas Gal-3 primarily recognizes poly-N-acetyllactosamine-containing glycans independent of N-glycan presentation. GAEABs provide a general solution to glycan microarray preparation from natural sources for defining the specificity of glycan-binding proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Benzamides / chemical synthesis
  • Benzamides / chemistry*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemical synthesis
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Galectin 1 / metabolism
  • Galectin 3 / metabolism
  • Galectins / metabolism*
  • Ligands
  • Microarray Analysis
  • Polysaccharides / chemical synthesis
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry*
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Substances

  • 2-amino-N-(2-aminoethyl)benzamide
  • Benzamides
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Galectin 1
  • Galectin 3
  • Galectins
  • Ligands
  • Polysaccharides