Mass Spectrometry to Study the Cancer Glycoproteome

Protein glycosylation is important yet understudied with important roles in biology and disease. Aberrant glycosylation is a well-known feature of cancer, however relatively little is known about the specific proteins and biological pathways affected by these modifications in tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Recent developments in mass spectrometry have enabled intact glycopeptides to be analyzed, thereby retaining information about the site and type of glycosylation on a protein. We have been developing and applying novel glycoproteomic analysis workflows for the analysis of a variety of human tissue and fluid samples. Our methodology includes a variety of different methods for glycopeptide enrichment to make samples more amenable for mass spectrometry-based glycopeptide analysis. Examples from various sample types and cancers will be shown and potential hints to underlying biology will be discussed.