Glycosaminoglycan Glycomics using Mass Spectrometry

Abstract
The fact that sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAG) are necessary for functioning of all animal physiological systems drives the need to understand their biology. This understanding is limited, however, by the heterogeneous nature of GAG chains and their dynamic spatial and temporal expression patterns. GAGs have a regulated structure overlaid by heterogeneity but lack the details necessary to build structure/function relationships. In order to provide this information, we need glycomics platforms that are sensitive, robust, high throughput, and information-rich. This review summarizes progress on mass spectrometry-based GAG glycomics methods. The areas covered include disaccharide analysis, oligosaccharide profiling, and tandem mass spectrometric sequencing.

The full review article is published online in Molecular & Cellular Proteomics and is free to access.