Table 1.

List of glycoproteins, corresponding pathologies, and suggested therapeutic interventions

Glycoprotein	Significance	PTM	Disease(s) and associated pathologies	Underlying mechanism	Potential therapeutic modalities	Research model(s)	Reference (s)
Lectin targets (galectin, siglec)	Development, axonal tracing and neurite fasciculation	N-acetyllactosamine	Impaired repair and regeneration.Liver cirrhosis.Heart failure.Neoplastic transformation	Upregulation of lectins	Galectin-3 inhibitor; TD139	RatMouseSTEM cells	53,58
Neural cell adhesion molecules (neuroserpin)	Neurogenesis	Polysialic acid and N-glycosylation	Alzheimer’s diseaseCancer (myeloma, myeloid leukemia, lymphoma, and others)	Signaling through axon guidance receptors (EphA2, neuropilin-1, Robo, and DCC)	Radioimmunolocalization of metastases using NCAM-binding radioim- munoconjugates	RatCells	142,143
β-Amyloid	Pro-inflammatory and cholesterol regulation	Bisecting N-GlcNAc	Alzheimer’s dis- ease.Dementia.Amyloid angiopathy	Increase in N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase III (GnT-III) producingβ-amyloid that causes oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial impairment	Upregulation of the expression of bisecting N-glycans	Mouse	93
Tau	Cytoskeletal stabilization	N-glycosylation and hyperphosphoryla- tion	Alzheimer’s disease.Parkinson’s dis- ease.Dementia.Traumatic brain injury	Defective tau weakly stabilizes cytoskeletal microtubules.Tau activity decreases with age	New treatment with curcumin is under investigation.Early detection by associated biomarkers	Saliva samples	[144]
Transferrin (ceruloplasmin)	Iron homeostasis	N-glycosylation	Alzheimer’s disease.Parkinson’s disease.Iron overload anemia.Protein malnutrition	Abnormal binding to available iron	Targeting transferrin (Trf) and its receptor	CSF samples	145
Neuronal pentraxin	Pattern recognition receptor; acute immune response and neuronal plasticity	N-glycosylation	Parkinson’s disease	Immune response and acute inflammation, acute phase proteins	Goeckerman’s therapy (GT)	Human SN and frontal cortex	104
Nicastrin	Part of the complex that cleaves APP	O-GlcNAcylated	Alzheimer’s disease	Reduction of γ-secretase activity and Aβ production	Antinicastrin antibodies	CSF samples	90
α-Synuclein	Synaptic maintenance	O-glycosylation	Parkinson’s dis- ease.Dememtia.System atro- phy.Synucleinopathies	Interacts with tubulin as a potential microtubule-associated protein	Inhibit aggregation of α-synuclein-like cuminaldehyde	MouseCells	140
Biglycan	Antoi-apototic	Glycosaminoglycan- like glycosylation	Alzheimer’s disease.Parkinson’s disease.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis.Huntington’s disease	NF-κB mediated NO-induced apoptotic cell death	Biglycan gene therapy	Cells	148
Acetylcholinesterase (also butyryl- cholinesterase)	Cleaves Ach	Amphiphilic dimeric and monomeric AChE isoforms	Alzheimer’s disease (AChE is almost specific).Muscular paralysis and convulsions	Increased Ach in the frontal cortex.Increase in amyloidStress and inflammation	Pharmacological intervention	CSF samples	89
PP2A	Major brain tau phosphatase	Methylation and glycosylation	Parkinson’s disease.Alzheimer’s disease.Traumatic brain injury.Cancer	Reduce tau hyperphosphorylation	PP2 as a biological target but recent evidence suggest its role as a tumor suppressor protein	Rat	149