Munich Neuroscience Calendar

Event:

07.10.2015, 10:00 Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
until 11:00
Event Type: Talk
Speaker: Gordan Lauc
Institute: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry & Genos Glycoscience Research Laboratory, Zagreb, Croatia

Title: Patient stratification beyond individual genes: Glycans as integrators of genes and environment

Location:
Kraepelin Seminar Room
Kraepelinstr. 2
80804 München

Host: Bertram Müller-Myhsok
Host Email: junkert@psych.mpg.de
Abstract:
Glycosylation is an essential posttranslational modification generated by a complex biosynthetic pathway comprising hundreds of glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, transcriptional factors, ion channels and other proteins. This process results in the creation of branched oligosaccharide chains, called glycans, which become integral part of proteins and significantly contribute to their structure and function. Since glycans are created without the genetic template, alternative glycosylation creates an additional layer of protein complexity by combining genetic variability with past and present environmental factors. Individual variability in glycome composition is very large, but glycosylation of an individual protein seems to be under strong genetic influence, with the heritability of the IgG glycome being up to 80%. Structural details of the attached glycans are of great physiological significance and many pathological conditions are associated with various types of glycan changes. Since the onset of genome wide association studies (GWAS), thousands of genetic loci have been associated with different diseases and traits. However, in the last few years, and particularly after recent publication of the results from the ENCODE project, it is becoming increasingly clear that GWAS studies are only a beginning of the understanding of complex human diseases. Hypotheses generated in these studies have to be put in the context of complex biology of life and a more elaborate approach that combines different ‘omics phenotypes is needed to understand disease mechanisms and perform patient stratification that transcends genomics. Glycomics, as by far the most complex epiproteomic modification, has an immense potential in this respect, which is only beginning to be investigated.


Registration Link: