Lectin-Based Approaches to Analyze the Role of Glycans and Their Clinical Application in Disease

Sep 21, 2026

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Lectin-based approaches remain a valuable tool for analyzing glycosylation, especially for detecting cancer-related changes. Glycans function as platforms for cell communication, signal transduction, and adhesion, making their biological roles essential for clinical contexts including cancer, infection, and immunity. Because glycan three-dimensional structure and multivalency strongly govern lectin binding, lectin–glycan interactions provide critical mechanistic and diagnostic information. Beyond analysis, lectins can serve in drug delivery and as therapeutic targets when expression changes in cancer.

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CategoryHealthcare

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Introduction

Glycans, lectins, and clinical relevance

Lectins as a Tool for Analyzing Glycosylation

Review Lectin-Based Approaches to Analyze the Role of Glycans and Their Clinical Application in Disease Hiroko Ideo *, Akiko Tsuchida and Yoshio Takada Citation: Ideo, H.; Tsuchida, A.; Takada, Y. Lectin-Based Approaches to Analyze the Role of Glycans and Their Clinical Application in Disease. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 10231 . [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)ijms251810231 Academic Editor: Cheorl-Ho Kim Received: 26 August 2024 Revised: 18 September 2024 Accepted: 19 September 2024 Published: 23 September 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . Laboratory of Glycobiology, The Noguchi Institute, 1-9-7, Kaga, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0003, Japan; [akikots@noguchi.or.jp](akikots@noguchi.or.jp) (A.T.); [takada@noguchi.or.jp](takada@noguchi.or.jp) (Y.T.) * Correspondence: [ideo@noguchi.or.jp](ideo@noguchi.or.jp); Tel.: +81-3-3961-3255 Abstract: Lectin-based approaches remain a valuable tool for analyzing glycosylation, especially when detecting cancer-related changes. Certain glycans function as platforms for cell communication, signal transduction, and adhesion. Therefore, the functions of glycans are important considerations for clinical aspects, such as cancer, infection, and immunity. Considering that the three-dimensional structure and multivalency of glycans are important factors for their function, their binding characteristics toward lectins provide vital information. Glycans and lectins are inextricably linked, and studies on lectins have also led to research on the roles of glycans. The applications of lectins are not limited to analysis but can also be used as drug delivery tools. Moreover, mammalian lectins are potential therapeutic targets because certain lectins change their expression in cancer, and lectin regulation subsequently regulates several molecules with glycans. Herein, we review lectin-based approaches for analyzing the role of glycans and their clinical applications in diseases, as well as our recent results. Keywords: lectin; glycosylation; glycosphingolipids; glycoprotein; cancer; analysis; galectin-4 1. Introduction Given that glycans cover the outermost layer of the cell, various biological phenomena cannot be explained without deep insight into their functions. Although defects in proteins (genes) often have fatal consequences, those in glycans have less critical effects. The majority of attached glycans have little or no effect on protein function; however, certain glycans function in proper protein folding and act as platforms for processes such as communication, signal transduction, and adhesion. Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG, formerly called carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein) are rare congenital disorders in which the glycosylation of various tissue proteins and/or lipids is either defective or absent. CDG syndromes cause serious malfunctions in several organ systems, especially the nervous system, muscles, and intestines [1] . Thus, glycans play an important role in organs affected by CDG syndrome. Cancer, infection, and immunity are important clinical aspects of glycan function. Hence, lectins play an important role in these processes as glycan receptors (Figure 1) . Proteins are assembled from amino acids using the information encoded by genes, whereas glycans are assembled from monosaccharides using various glycosyltransferases. Glycans conjugated to proteins and lipids confer specific structures and functions. Unlike amino acids and nucleotides, two monosaccharides can bind to several binding sites, resulting in several isomeric structures. In addition, one monosaccharide can form

FAQs

Why are lectin-based approaches useful for glycan analysis in disease?

Lectin binding provides vital information because glycan function depends on three-dimensional structure and multivalency. Glycosylation changes, including those related to cancer, can be detected through lectin-based recognition.

What clinical aspects of glycan function are emphasized in the review?

The review highlights cancer, infection, and immunity as key clinical areas where glycan roles matter. It frames lectins as glycan receptors driving these processes.

How can lectins be used beyond analysis?

Lectins can also act as drug delivery tools. Additionally, mammalian lectins may be therapeutic targets because some lectins change expression in cancer, enabling lectin regulation to influence glycan-associated molecules.

Sep 21, 2026

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