Affiliations: The Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for Musculoskeletal
Diseases, St George University of London, London, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: A. Alavi, The Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for
Musculoskeletal Diseases, St George University of London, London, SW17 ORE, UK.
Tel.: +44 208 266 6802; E-mail: aalavi@sgul.ac.uk
Abstract: Once dismissed as just the icing on the cake, sugar molecules are
emerging as vital components in life's intricate machinery. Our understanding
of their function within the context of the proteins and lipids to which they
are attached has matured rapidly, and with it the far reaching clinical
implications are becoming understood. Recent advances in high-throughput glycomic techniques, glyco
biomarker profiling, glyco-bioinformatics and development of increasingly
sophisticated glyco-arrays, combined with our increased understanding of the
molecular details of glycosylation have facilitated the linkage between
aberrant glycosylation and human diseases, and highlighted the possibility of
using glyco-biomarkers as potential determinants of disease and its
progression. The focus of this review is to give an insight into the biological
significance of these glycomodifications, highlight some specific examples of
glyco-biomarkers in relation to autoimmunity and in particular rheumatoid
arthritis, and to explore the exciting possibility of exploiting these for
diagnostic and prognostic strategies.
