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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jul 21.
Published in final edited form as: Cell. 2022 Jul 8;185(15):2657–2677. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.016

Figure 6. Methods to modulate glycans.

Figure 6.

(A) Genetic knockout of individual glycosyltransferases (GTs) and other glycan biosynthetic enzymes globally affects cellular glycan populations, leading to truncated glycan structures.

(B) Chemoenzymatic remodeling using endoglycosidases (ENGase) simplifies N-glycan heterogeneity on the cell surface or on proteins. Installation of specific structures is accomplished using mutant ENGases or GTs that can install specific structures functionalized for further biorthogonal reactions.

(C) Cell-surface engineering has been accomplished with both synthetic and naturally occurring glycopolymers anchored to the cell surface by lipids or proteins. Techniques can modulate the glycocalyx by changing its composition or thickness.

(D) Targeted O-GlcNAc modification utilizes nanobody (nb)-fused OGT or OGA, which directs the enzymes to tagged target proteins. In the case of OGA, this approach is accomplished through a split OGA construct.