Copenhagen Center for Glycomics Research Group
- Henrik Clausen
- Hans H Wandall
- Bernard Henrissat
- Ramon Hurtado-Guerrero
- Katrine Schjoldager
- Yoshiki Narimatsu
- Hiren J Joshi
Our bodies are a stage, and cells are the players that bring it to life. Like actors, all cells have costumes that define their roles. Cells are dressed in a sugary coat of glycans, but what does the glycome coat actually look like – and how can that knowledge help us understand disease and design better medicines?
This question has driven a European research team from Denmark, France and Spain to revolutionise the entire field of complex carbohydrates (glycoscience) – often called the third language of life – after DNA and proteins.
This marks the beginning of a new era in biomedicine: NextGen Glycomics.
From Genetics to Breakthroughs
Traditionally, glycoscience has been dominated by classic chemistry and complex laboratory processes. The European team fundamentally changed this by introducing a genetic approach to rewrite the script for glycans. Using nuclease-based gene editing (CRISPR), the researchers learned to remove, restore and design specific sugar coats in cells – like a form of biological LEGO brick building.
This has made it possible to create the first genetic and biosynthetic atlas of human glycosylation pathways – a manual for how cells build and regulate their sugar structures. Such a manual has for long existed for genes and proteins. The knowledge reveals how errors in glycan structures are associated with genetic diseases, cancer, and infections – and enables the development of new biological medicines with greater efficacy and fewer side effects.
At the same time, the European team has developed a series of groundbreaking advancements:
- the award-winning SimpleCell technology that enables global mapping of glycans on proteins on entire cellular glycoproteomes;
- widely use informatics tools & resources (CAZy, NetOGlyc4.0, GlycoDomainViewer)
- the first cell-based glycan arrays to display and study sugars in their natural context;
- the first cell factories for producing biological drugs with uniform glycans;
- the first environmental friendly cell-based production of glycans and glycan-based drugs;
- the first structural view of single molecules with glycans;
- and the first evidence that glycans are recognized in contextual motifs with transformative impact on how the sugary coat interacts with the microbiota.
These advances have broken down the barrier between glycomics and genomics, integrating sugar biology into modern life sciences.
The research has also led to successful biotechnology companies, new drug designs, attracted investments and created highly specialized jobs.