Johnathon Anderson's Biography

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Extracellular Vesicle Glycosylation

Friday, 26 February 2021 at 10:30

Add to Calendar ▼2021-02-26 10:30:002021-02-26 11:30:00Europe/LondonExtracellular Vesicle GlycosylationExtracellular Vesicles (EV)-Exosomes: Diagnostics, Delivery and Therapeutics in Virtual ConferenceVirtual ConferenceSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com

Up to 50% of the proteins encoded in the human genome are predicted to contain glycosylation sites. Aberrant glycosylation is a hallmark of several diseases, including many types of cancer from different origins. Although the functional significance of such patterns of glycan expression and presentation are not yet well characterized, tumor growth, metastases and immunoregulation have all been associated with such abnormal displays of glycosylation within the tumor microenvironment. Our group is interested in understanding glycosylation dynamics in the context of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which serve as a source of CAFs in some types of cancer. One of the most remarkable changes in cancer glycosylation is the aberrant expression of sialic acid–bearing glycans called sialoglycans. Cells within the tumor bed are often covered with a dense layer of sialoglycans which have emerged in recent years as potent immune modulators that promote tumor immune evasion. Sialoglycans serve as the cognate ligands for a family of immune checkpoint receptors called sialic acid–binding immunoglobulin-like lectins (Siglecs), which are expressed by various populations of leukocytes. Preclinical studies have shown that tumor associated sialoglycans negatively influence immune cell function by interacting with the immune-inhibitory Siglec family members. Our group is interested in how sialoglycan expression is regulated in MSCs and CAFs, and what functional role they may play in their derived extracellular vesicles.