Neoglycolipid-based "designer" oligosaccharide microarrays to define β-glucan ligands for Dectin-1

Methods Mol Biol. 2012:808:337-59. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-373-8_23.

Abstract

In this chapter, we describe the key steps of the "designer" oligosaccharide microarray approach we followed to prove the carbohydrate binding activity and define the oligosaccharide ligands for Dectin-1, an atypical C-type lectin-like signaling receptor of the mammalian innate immune system with a key role in anti-fungal immunity. The term "designer" microarray, which we introduced in the course of the Dectin-1 study refers to a microarray of oligosaccharide probes generated from ligand-bearing glycoconjugates to reveal the oligosaccharide ligands they harbor, so that these can be isolated and characterized. Oligosaccharide probes were generated from two polysaccharides, one that was bound by Dectin-1 and known to be rich in β1,3-glucose sequence and another that was not bound and was rich in β1,6-glucose sequence and served as a negative control. The approach involved: classic ELISA-type binding assays to select the polysaccharides; partial depolymerization of the polysaccharides by chemical hydrolysis; fractionation by size of the glucan oligosaccharides obtained and determination of their chain lengths by mass spectrometry; detection of Dectin-1 ligand-positive and ligand-negative oligosaccharides using the neoglycolipid (NGL) technology; methylation analysis of oligosaccharides to derive glucose linkage information, and incorporation of the newly generated glucan oligosaccharide probes into microarrays encompassing diverse mammalian-type and exogenous sequences for microarray analysis of Dectin-1.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Glucans / chemistry*
  • Glycolipids / chemistry*
  • Lectins, C-Type / chemistry*
  • Ligands
  • Microarray Analysis / methods*

Substances

  • Glucans
  • Glycolipids
  • Lectins, C-Type
  • Ligands
  • dectin 1