Exploiting lectin affinity chromatography in clinical diagnosis

Lectin affinity chromatography (LAC) offers a tool that aids purification o f cell surface glycoconjugates in sufficient quantities so that studies add ressing their structural elucidation could be carried out. It has several a dvantages over the conventional biochemical methods, such as immunoprecipit ation and/or immunoaffinity chromatography, used for the purification of va rious glycoconjugates. Serial LAC (SLAC) not only helps establish the ident ity of a glycoprotein or allows purification of a glycoprotein to homogenei ty from among a mixture of glycoproteins, but it also successfully resolves the microheterogeneity in these glycoproteins, which is an otherwise impra cticable problem to address. Specific cases of the altered expression and m aintenance of microheterogeneity of some of the glycoproteins in pathologic al conditions vis a vis during normal biology are presented. The applicatio n of LAC in (i) itself, (ii) a serial fashion, and (iii) conjunction with o ther techniques such as two-dimensional electrophoresis, capillary electrop horesis, mass spectrometry, etc. in the diagnosis of certain pathological c onditions, and the possibility of using this knowledge in designing treatme nts for various diseases, is discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All r ights reserved.