AUTHOR=Van Kooyk Yvette , Kalay Hakan , Garcia-Vallejo Juan J. 

TITLE=Analytical Tools for the Study of Cellular Glycosylation in the Immune System

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=4

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2013.00451

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2013.00451

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p>It is becoming increasingly clear that glycosylation plays important role in intercellular communication within the immune system. Glycosylation-dependent interactions are crucial for the innate and adaptive immune system and regulate immune cell trafficking, synapse formation, activation, and survival. These functions take place by the <italic>cis</italic> or <italic>trans</italic> interaction of lectins with glycans. Classical immunological and biochemical methods have been used for the study of lectin function; however, the investigation of their counterparts, glycans, requires very specialized methodologies that have been extensively developed in the past decade within the Glycobiology scientific community. This mini-review intends to summarize the available technology for the study of glycan biosynthesis, its regulation and characterization for their application to the study of glycans in immunology.</p>