Research Highlights
GlycoSHIELD – quantitative descriptions of the shielding effects and biological implications of protein glycosylation

Proteins on the surface of cells and viruses are often cloaked in a dense sugar coating, a key factor in their host recognition and immune evasion. Despite its significance, this sugar "cloak" has remained elusive to structural biologists, akin to the tale of the king's new clothes. To address this challenge, Shang-Te Danny Hsu from Academia Sinica integrated cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and small-angle X-ray scattering to provide key experimental data to validate the algorithm developed by Matteusz Sikora (Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Germany) Cyril Hanus (Université Paris-Cité, France), known as the GlycoSHIELD, which is capable of constructing atomic models of glycoproteins within minutes, using only a personal computer. This breakthrough empowers researchers to delve into the spatial arrangement of sugar molecules on protein surfaces, understand their shielding effects, and anticipate their impact on biological functions and protein structure.

Two of the co-first authors, Yu-Xi Tsai and Ning-En Chang, are master students from the Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University. The experimental work is supported by Academia Sinica's core facilities for cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, and biophysics, alongside the small-angle X-ray scattering beamline at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, with funding from Academia Sinica and the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan. This research epitomizes Taiwan's commitment to advancing scientific frontiers and the importance of international and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Article: Rapid simulation of glycoprotein structures by grafting and steric exclusion of glycan conformer libraries

Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.034

Authors: Tsai YX, Chang NE, Reuter K, Chang HT, Yang TJ, von Bülow S, Sehrawat V, Zerrouki M, Tuffery M, Gecht M, Grothaus IL, Ciacchi LC, Wang YS, Hsu MF, Khoo KH, Hummer G, Hsu STD*, Hanus C*, Sikora M*