The complex carbohydrate structures decorating human proteins and lipids, also called glycans, are abundantly present at cell surfaces and in the secretome. Glycosylation is vital for biological processes including cell–cell recognition, immune responses, and signaling pathways. Therefore, the structural and functional characterization of the human glycome is gaining more and more interest in basic biochemistry research and in the context of developing new therapies, diagnostic tools, and biotechnology applications. For glycomics to reach its full potential in these fields, it is critical to appreciate the specific factors defining the function of the human glycome. Here, we review the glycosyltransferases (the writers) that form the glycome and the glycan-binding proteins (the readers) with an essential role in decoding glycan functions. While abundantly present throughout different cells and tissues, the function of specific glycosylation features is highly dependent on their context. In this review, we highlight the relevance of studying the glycome in the context of specific carrier proteins, cell types, and subcellular locations. With this, we hope to contribute to a richer understanding of the glycome and a more systematic approach to identifying the roles of glycosylation in human physiology.

中文翻译：

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读取和写入人类糖码


装饰人类蛋白质和脂质的复杂碳水化合物结构（也称为聚糖）大量存在于细胞表面和分泌组中。糖基化对于细胞间识别、免疫反应和信号通路等生物过程至关重要。因此，人类糖组的结构和功能表征在基础生物化学研究以及开发新疗法、诊断工具和生物技术应用的背景下越来越受到关注。为了让糖组学在这些领域充分发挥潜力，了解定义人类糖组学功能的特定因素至关重要。在这里，我们回顾了形成糖组的糖基转移酶（作者）和聚糖结合蛋白（读者），它们在解码聚糖功能中发挥着重要作用。虽然在不同的细胞和组织中大量存在，但特定糖基化特征的功能高度依赖于它们的背景。在这篇综述中，我们强调了在特定载体蛋白、细胞类型和亚细胞位置的背景下研究糖组的相关性。借此，我们希望有助于更丰富地了解糖组，并提供更系统的方法来确定糖基化在人类生理学中的作用。