Identification of Glycoprotein Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Disease

Identification of glycoprotein biomarkers can play an important role in the early diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disease. Based on state-of-the-art research facilities and professional scientific teams, Creative Biolabs has gained significant knowledge and rich experience in the identification of glycoprotein biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease. We are more than happy to share our experience and help our customers in glycoprotein biomarkers research.

What Is Neurodegenerative Disease?

Neurodegenerative disease is an umbrella term for a range of conditions which is characterized by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons in the human brain leading to the cognitive and physical impairments, including the death of neurons. Common neurodegenerative diseases include Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Huntington's disease. Recent researches have indicated that several neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the aggregation of misfolded proteins. Aberrant protein glycosylation has been recognized to play major roles in human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases.

P-glycoprotein Is a Potential Biomarker in Neurodegenerative Diseases

As a pump of the cell membrane, P-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier functions as an active efflux pump by extruding a substrate from the brain, which is important for maintaining homeostasis in the brain. Correspondingly, dysfunctional P-glycoprotein is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, which is probably due to the accumulation of aggregated proteins, including glycoproteins. Furthermore, P-glycoprotein regulation pumps exogenous compounds like drugs or chemotherapeutic agents out of the blood-brain barrier, which results in protection of the brain from toxic substances as well as resistance to treatment. Therefore, P-glycoprotein in cerebrospinal fluid might be a potential marker in neurodegenerative diseases.

Identification of Glycoprotein Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Disease

The glycosylation of acetylcholinesterase altered in the postmortem brain and cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients is observed, whereas it is not seen in other neurological diseases. However, acetylcholinesterase may not be a perfect biomarker because of its lower sensitivity. Mutations of α-synuclein appear to result in the dominant familial PD, which suggest that the total amount of α-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid can be tested as potential biomarkers of PD. A novel protein leucine-rich α2-glycoprotein in human cerebrospinal fluid has been identified to be a useful biomarker for the early diagnosis of PD and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Although many neurodegenerative diseases cannot be cured at the present time, biomarkers will be beneficial to early diagnosis and control of the diseases. Studies have shown that a few glycoprotein markers have been identified from cerebrospinal fluid by various technologies, such as mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics.

Fig.1 Glycoproteins in cerebrospinal fluid research using MS (Pan, 2006).

Neurodegenerative disease is a kind of complex disorders mainly affects the elders and more and more attention has been paid in recent years. Creative Biolabs is pleased to share our cutting-edge technologies in the identification of glycoprotein biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease. We can offer high-quality customized services by adjusting protocols to meet even the most specific requirements. If you are interested in the identification of glycoprotein biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease, please in just feel free to contact us for more detailed information.

Reference

1. Pan, S.; et al. Identification of glycoproteins in human cerebrospinal fluid with a complementary proteomic approach. Journal of Proteome Research. 2006, 5(10): 2769-2779.

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