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Biomedicines
Special Issues
Role of Glycomics in Health and Diseases
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Role of Glycomics in Health and Diseases

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular and Translational Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 1366

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tijl Vermassen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department Medical Oncology, Ghent University Hospital, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Interests: glycomics; protein chemistry; tumor immunology; biomarker research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The human body and its physiology are characterized by a variety of complex processes and structures. One of these structures is glycans; these are complex carbohydrate molecules that are one of the four primary components of the cell (alongside DNA, proteins, and lipids).

The main functions of glycans are as follows: 1) structural and modulatory roles; 2) extrinsic (interspecies) recognition; 3) intrinsic (intraspecies) recognition; and 4) molecular mimicry of host glycans. Via these functions, carbohydrate structures play a fundamental role in almost every process in our body, e.g., the maintenance of tissue structure, protein trafficking, and ligand binding.

The field of glycome research is gaining more and more attention. The accumulation of aberrant glycan patterns has been demonstrated in various pathological conditions, such as liver diseases, immune-related disorders, nephropathy, and cancer development. Insights into how these changes occur in the glycan machinery remain scarce and further research on the matter is needed.

In this Special Issue, we aim to cover the most recent advances regarding glycomic research in both healthy and diseased states. The main focus will be on, but not limited to, the physiological role of the glycome in the human body, the pathophysiological processes of aberrant glycosylation in disease, the methodological approaches to assess glycan-related biomarkers, and the use of glycan patterns as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis and risk stratification.

In this Special Issue, we welcome all types of papers (reviews, original papers, or perspective papers) on the aforementioned subject.

Dr. Tijl Vermassen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • glycomics
  • protein chemistry
  • tumor immunology
  • biomarker research

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

56 pages, 4337 KB  
Review
Glycomics in Human Diseases and Its Emerging Role in Biomarker Discovery
by Sherifdeen Onigbinde, Moyinoluwa Adeniyi, Oluwatosin Daramola, Favour Chukwubueze, Md Mostofa Al Amin Bhuiyan, Judith Nwaiwu, Tuli Bhattacharjee and Yehia Mechref
Biomedicines 2025, 13(8), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13082034 - 21 Aug 2025
Viewed by 595
Abstract
Glycosylation, the enzymatic addition of glycans to proteins and lipids, is a critical post-translational modification that influences protein folding, stability, trafficking, immune modulation, and cell signaling. The vast structural diversity of glycans arising from differences in monosaccharide composition, branching, and terminal modifications such [...] Read more.
Glycosylation, the enzymatic addition of glycans to proteins and lipids, is a critical post-translational modification that influences protein folding, stability, trafficking, immune modulation, and cell signaling. The vast structural diversity of glycans arising from differences in monosaccharide composition, branching, and terminal modifications such as sialylation, fucosylation, and sulfation underpins their functional specificity and regulatory capacity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of glycan biosynthesis, with a focus on N-glycans, O-glycans, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), and glycolipids. It explores their essential roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis, development, and immune surveillance. In health, glycans mediate cell–cell communication, protein interactions, and immune responses. In disease, however, aberrant glycosylation is increasingly recognized as a hallmark of numerous pathological conditions, including cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, autoimmune diseases, and a wide range of infectious diseases. Glycomic alterations contribute to tumor progression, immune evasion, therapy resistance, neuroinflammation, and synaptic dysfunction. Tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) and disease-specific glycoforms present novel opportunities for biomarker discovery and therapeutic targeting. Moreover, glycan-mediated host–pathogen interactions are central to microbial adhesion, immune escape, and virulence. This review highlights current advances in glycomics technologies, including mass spectrometry, lectin microarrays, and glycoengineering, which have enabled the high-resolution profiling of the glycome. It also highlights the emerging potential of single-cell glycomics and multi-omics integration in precision medicine. Understanding glycome and its dynamic regulation is essential for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of disease and translating glycomic insights into innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Glycomics in Health and Diseases)
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18 pages, 1885 KB  
Review
Advancement in Clinical Glycomics and Glycoproteomics for Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation: Progress and Challenges Ahead
by Nurulamin Abu Bakar and Nurul Izzati Hamzan
Biomedicines 2025, 13(8), 1964; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13081964 - 13 Aug 2025
Viewed by 422
Abstract
Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of rare, multisystemic genetic diseases caused by defects in glycan biosynthesis and protein glycosylation. Their broad clinical and genetic heterogeneity often require advanced diagnostic strategies. Clinical glycomics and glycoproteomics have emerged as powerful tools for [...] Read more.
Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of rare, multisystemic genetic diseases caused by defects in glycan biosynthesis and protein glycosylation. Their broad clinical and genetic heterogeneity often require advanced diagnostic strategies. Clinical glycomics and glycoproteomics have emerged as powerful tools for understanding and diagnosing CDG by enabling high-resolution analysis of glycan structures and glycoproteins. Advancements in high-throughput mass spectrometry (MS) and site-specific glycoproteomics have led to the identification of disease-relevant biomarkers, providing insight into underlying glycosylation defects. These technologies enable detailed analysis of glycan structures and glycoproteins, improving early diagnosis, supporting biomarker discovery, and facilitating therapy monitoring. Integration with genomic and clinical data, including the use of dried blood spot testing and isotopic tracing, further enhances diagnostic precision and reveals the functional consequences of pathogenic variants. While challenges remain in standardizing methods, ensuring accessibility, and implementing bioinformatics tools, global collaborations and harmonized guidelines are beginning to address these gaps. Future directions include the use of artificial intelligence in data analysis, the development of comprehensive diagnostic frameworks, and international efforts to standardize glycomic methods. Collectively, these advances reinforce the growing clinical value of glycomics and glycoproteomics in the diagnosis and management of CDG. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Glycomics in Health and Diseases)
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