Glycoprotein Crystal based Structural & Functional Analysis Service

How Creative Biolabs' Glycoprotein Crystal based Structural & Functional Analysis Service Can Assist Your Project?

Are you currently facing long drug development cycles, challenges in rational drug design, and difficulty in overcoming immune evasion or drug resistance? Our One-Stop Glycan Crystal & Glycoprotein Crystal Analysis Services help you accelerate drug discovery by providing high-resolution insights into disease mechanisms through advanced structural and functional analysis techniques.

Glycoproteins are a class of proteins with attached glycans that play critical roles in a vast array of biological processes, from viral entry and immune recognition to cell-cell adhesion and protein quality control. Understanding the three-dimensional structure of these proteins is paramount for rational drug design. Creative Biolabs is a leader in applying structural biology to solve a wide range of biological challenges. Our expertise and advanced technology platform provide key advantages that accelerate your research and development. At Creative Biolabs, we believe that understanding a problem at the atomic level is the first step to a lasting solution. Our Glycoprotein Crystal Analysis Services provide you with the precise molecular blueprint of your target. Our service provides high-resolution insights into these complex molecules. Our process is designed to be a clear, step-by-step collaboration, delivering actionable data and structural insights. We provide you with the data, revealing hidden vulnerabilities in pathogens and disease-related proteins.

What Are the Specific Processes?

A high-resolution structure of a glycoprotein is not just a scientific curiosity; it is a critical tool for rational drug design. It allows researchers to visualize the active site of an enzyme (like α1,2-mannosidase), understand how a virus evades the immune system (e.g., the glycan shield on HCMV gB), or map the binding site for a neutralizing antibody. This knowledge moves drug discovery from a laborious, low-yield process of random screening to a targeted, high-efficiency approach. Creative Biolabs' service is a complete, end-to-end solution.

• Gene Synthesis & Vector Construction: We begin by synthesizing the gene for your target glycoprotein and cloning it into an appropriate expression vector.
• Expression Optimization: We use a range of expression systems, including insect cells and mammalian cells, to ensure optimal protein yield and proper post-translational modifications, especially glycosylation, which is often key to a glycoprotein's function.
• Protein Purification: Our purification protocols are tailored to each protein, including techniques like affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography to obtain a monodisperse sample.
• Crystallization Screening & Optimization: We use automated techniques to screen crystallization conditions. For difficult proteins, we employ advanced strategies like co-crystallization with antibodies or small-molecule inhibitors to stabilize the protein and promote crystal formation.
• Data Collection & Structure Elucidation: We collect high-resolution X-ray diffraction data, then use state-of-the-art software for molecular replacement to solve the protein's atomic structure.
• Structure-Function Correlation: The final step is to correlate the structural data with the protein's functions. We use techniques like molecular dynamics simulations, ligand docking, and surface electrostatics analysis to identify key residues for binding, catalysis, or conformational change.

Fig.1 Detailed process for glycoprotein crystal analysis.

Importance and Application

The applications of our service are vast and have the potential to revolutionize therapeutic development.

Published Data

The literature details the groundbreaking discovery of the crystal structure of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoprotein B (gB) ectodomain. This is the first time the atomic-level structure of a protein from this specific family of viruses, known as betaherpesviruses, has been determined. The study reveals that HCMV gB is a large, spike-like trimer that takes on a postfusion conformation. This structural similarity with glycoproteins from other herpesviruses, such as Herpes Simplex virus (HSV-1) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), officially classifies HCMV gB as a member of the class III viral fusogens, which are proteins responsible for facilitating a virus's merger with a host cell membrane. A key focus of the research is how the structure of HCMV gB compares to its HSV-1 and EBV counterparts. While all three share a similar overall architecture, the study highlights that each protein has a distinct domain arrangement. For instance, the way the domains are positioned relative to one another in the HCMV gB structure is different from how they are positioned in the HSV-1 and EBV structures. These subtle but significant differences are a form of structural plasticity, suggesting that although the proteins share a common function as fusogens, each virus has evolved to fine-tune its gB for virus-specific functional needs. The research also shows that HCMV gB is heavily coated in carbohydrate chains, or glycans, which act as a shield to help the virus evade the human immune system. This glycan layer is strategically placed to protect sites that would generate powerful neutralizing antibodies, while leaving other sites, which produce less effective antibodies, exposed to the immune system.

Fig.2 Comparative structures of gB from three different herpesviruses.¹

FAQs

Customer Review

Extended Services

To achieve your goals, you may require additional support beyond structural analysis. We offer a full suite of complementary services designed to provide a seamless workflow.

• Recombinant protein expression & purification: For clients who need high-quality protein samples for their own research.
• Antibody discovery & engineering: We can assist you in discovering and optimizing antibodies for therapeutic use.
• Small molecule screening: Our high-throughput screening platform can identify small molecules that bind to your target.

How to Contact Us

The structural elucidation of glycoproteins is no longer a scientific curiosity-it is a critical step towards solving significant clinical challenges. At Creative Biolabs, we are leveraging these precise, atomic-level insights to accelerate the discovery and development of breakthrough therapeutics. Our focus on structure-based design is the key to creating a new generation of medicines. Please contact us to inquire about more details.

Reference

1. Burke, Heidi G., and Ekaterina E. Heldwein. "Crystal structure of the human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B." PLoS pathogens 11.10 (2015): e1005227. Distributed under an Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1005227

Related Services

• Glycosylation Site Analysis
• Glycosylation Type Analysis
• Glycoprotein & Carbohydrate Binding Analysis