The focus of Dr Niclas Karlsson’s research group is the role of glycosylation for sustained human health. Patient samples are analysed in order to identify pathological alteration of the glycosylation. The broad spectrum of investigated diseases mimics the omnipresence of glycans in biological interfaces, including the glycocalyx on cell membranes, on mucosal surfaces that protects gastrointestinal, pulmonary and reproductive tracts and the joints in the muscoskeletal system.
The group is applying state-of-the-art mass spectrometric and HPLC based glycomics of both N-linked and O-linked glycans to identify pathological alteration of the glycosylation. The glycan analysis are challenged by the analytical enigma that glycan display. In order to efficiently characterise and quantify these complex molecules members of Niclas Karlsson´s research group are consciously looking for new glycoanalytical solutions. Recent published work describes methods for selected ion monitoring MS of O-linked glycans that allows screening for selected glycobiomarker candidates in large scale clinical samples. The lab is also continually developing label free quantification/identification for biomarker discovery.
The group’s collection of structural/MS2 spectra data is accessible for free via UniCarb-DB (http://unicarb-db.expasy.org/). The collection contains more than 1000 different types of glycans analysed in the lab. By sharing the knowledge Niclas Karlssons´s research group wish to help other researchers in the tedious work of interpreting mass spectrometric fragmentation. If you want to contribute with your data please contact Dr Niclas Karlsson (email on the right). The database is a result from global collaboration with prestigious glycoanalytical and glycobioinformatical labs:
Dr Frederique Lisacek
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
Switzerland
Prof Pauline Rudd
National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT)
Ireland
Prof Nicolle Packer
Macquarie University
Australia
Prof Kiyoko Aoki-Kinoshita
Soka University
Japan
Dr Daniel Kolarish
Max Planck Institute
Germany
