Simplified Glycan Profiling Workflows of Captured Immune Glycoproteins and Cells

The technologies available to rapidly and efficiently manipulate the expression of hundreds of glycan biosynthetic genes to study the functional role of complex glycans in growing cells have eclipsed the analytical capabilities to evaluate each cell phenotype in a comparative or quantitative manner. Current glycome profiling approaches require specialized plate-based sample handling resources, extensive processing and purification prior to analysis, and are expensive in regards to processing time and enzyme. These are barriers to both non-glycomic and glycomic researchers adopting large scale glycan analysis workflows applied to biofluids and cells. Our collaborative group has recently developed a streamlined antibody capture slide array approach to directly profile N-glycans of captured serum glycoproteins like IgG, a method requiring a few microliters of sample and simplified processing workflows that require no purification or sugar modifications prior to analysis. N-glycans are released from captured glycoproteins and directly analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We propose to expand and adapt our slide array-based immune capture workflows to isolate immune cells directly from biofluids, and provide rapid analysis workflows of cultured cells. The goal in these assays is to develop rapid isolation workflows with minimal processing and direct glycan analysis, as described in three Specific Aims: SA1. Development of an on slide method for glycan analysis of immunoglobulin subtypes: SA 2. Development of Glyco-Cell Typer as applied to immune cell sub-types. SA 3. Analysis of cultured cells on slides for direct glycan measurements. Optimization of slide chemistry and processing will be emphasized, as well as conditions for metabolic isotope labeling and quantitative glycan analysis. The goal will be to provide validated workflows such that any research or core laboratory with a MALDI mass spectrometer will be able to perform routine glycan analysis on the most common types of samples.