Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.136, No.27, 9528-9531, 2014
Photoactivatable Glycopolymers for the Proteome-Wide Identification of Fucose-alpha(1-2)-Galactose Binding Proteins
Although fucose-alpha(1-2)-galactose (Fuc alpha(1-2)Gal)-containing glycans have been implicated in cognitive processes such as learning and memory, their precise molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we employed the use of multivalent glycopolymers to enable the first proteome-wide identification of weak affinity, low abundance Fuc alpha(1-2)Gal glycan-binding proteins (GBPs). Biotin-terminated glycopolymers containing photoactivatable cross-linking groups were designed to capture and enrich GBPs from rat brain lysates. Candidate proteins were tested for their ability to bind Fuc alpha(1-2)Gal, and the functional significance of the interaction was investigated for the synaptic vesicle protein SV2a using a knockout mouse system. The results suggest a role for SV2a-Fuc alpha(1-2)Gal interactions in SV2a trafficking and synaptic vesicle recycling. More broadly, our studies outline a general chemical approach for the systems-level discovery of novel GBPs.