glycans tagged posts

A new type of test that uses complex sugars to detect prostate cancer earlier and with greater accuracy is being developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham. The test works by identifying sugars, known as glycans, in blood. These sugars are attached to protein molecules called PSA and are known to undergo distinct but subtle changes when cancer is present in the body.

Particular types of glycans are associated with different cancers – but until now, there has been no technology available to detect the glycans in an accurate, timely and sufficiently specific way.

Research led by a team in the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering, has now developed a technique that can identify glycans associated with cancer with unprecedented accuracy...

Left, the P domain on human norovirus attaches to human cells via binding to HBGA. Human IgA antibody 5I2 interferes with this attachment by physically blocking the HBGA recognition site on the P domain. Courtesy of S. Shanker, B.V.V. Prasad and M. Estes

A mechanism by which human antibodies target and block noroviruses has been found. It opens the possibility of developing therapeutic agents against this virus that causes the death of about 200,000 children every year. “Some people infected with norovirus do not get sick,” said Dr. B V Venkataram Prasad, professor of virology and the Alvin Romansky Chair in biochemistry at Baylor. “We wanted to understand how
these protective human antibodies work.”

The researchers screened and isolated protective antibodies from human blood and discovere...