In glycoproteins, carbohydrates are responsible for the selective interaction and tight regulation of cellular processes, constituting the main information transducer interface in protein–glycoprotein interactions. Increasing experimental and computational evidence suggest that such interactions often induce allosteric changes in the host protein, underlining the importance of studying intact glycoproteins. Technical issues have precluded such studies for years but, nowadays, a promising era is emerging where NMR spectroscopy, among other techniques, allows the characterization of the composition, structure and segmental dynamics of glycoproteins. In this review, we discuss such advances and highlight some selected examples. This novel technology unravels multiple new functional mechanisms, subtly hidden within the sugar code.

在糖蛋白中，碳水化合物负责细胞过程的选择性相互作用和严格调节，构成蛋白质-糖蛋白相互作用中的主要信息转换器界面。越来越多的实验和计算证据表明，这种相互作用通常会引起宿主蛋白质的变构变化，强调了研究完整糖蛋白的重要性。多年来，技术问题阻碍了此类研究，但如今，一个充满希望的时代正在出现，核磁共振波谱等技术允许表征糖蛋白的组成、结构和片段动力学。在这篇评论中，我们讨论了这些进步并重点介绍了一些选定的例子。这项新技术揭示了多种新的功能机制，这些机制巧妙地隐藏在糖代码中。