Open AccessPerspectives on Anti-Glycan Antibodies Gleaned from Development of a Community Resource Database
Author(s) -
Eric Sterner,
Natalie Flanagan,
Jeffrey C. Gildersleeve
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acs chemical biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.899
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1554-8937
pISSN - 1554-8929
DOI - 10.1021/acschembio.6b00244
Subject(s) - antibody , glycan , monoclonal antibody , database , antibody repertoire , resource (disambiguation) , repertoire , computer science , computational biology , biology , immunology , glycoprotein , biochemistry , computer network , physics , acoustics
Antibodies are used extensively for a wide range of basic research and clinical applications. While an abundant and diverse collection of antibodies to protein antigens have been developed, good monoclonal antibodies to carbohydrates are much less common. Moreover, it can be difficult to determine if a particular antibody has the appropriate specificity, which antibody is best suited for a given application, and where to obtain that antibody. Herein, we provide an overview of the current state of the field, discuss challenges for selecting and using antiglycan antibodies, and summarize deficiencies in the existing repertoire of antiglycan antibodies. This perspective was enabled by collecting information from publications, databases, and commercial entities and assembling it into a single database, referred to as the Database of Anti-Glycan Reagents (DAGR). DAGR is a publicly available, comprehensive resource for anticarbohydrate antibodies, their applications, availability, and quality.