Sugar is one of the four important molecules that make up a living body. A glycoprotein is a protein in which a sugar chain and a specific amino acid residue in a peptide chain are covalently linked by a glycosidic bond. Glycoproteins are ubiquitous in organisms and play important roles in many life processes, such as protein folding, mutual recognition between cells, and inflammatory responses. At the same time, glycosylation modification plays an important role in the disease, especially the occurrence, development and metastasis of tumors. Many disease diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets are glycoproteins. The research of glycoproteomics and glycomics has important scientific significance. Bio-mass spectrometry, represented by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), has become a glycoproteome and glycoform analysis because of its rapidity, sensitivity, and structural information. An important tool.

A review article by the team of Professor Yang Lanyuan from Fudan University, "Research Progress in Mass Spectrometry in Glycoproteinomics and Glycomics" was published in the 3rd issue of the National Science Review in 2016. This review paper systematically introduces recent research strategies and methods for mass spectrometry-based glycoproteins and glycans, as well as important biological and clinical findings in this field. The focus is on the separation and enrichment of glycoproteins and sugar chains, the derivatization of sugar chains, the mass spectrometry fragmentation of sugar chains and glycoproteins, the analysis of sugar chain and glycoprotein sequence composition in domestic glycoproteomics and glycomics research teams. Advances in software technology, etc., and analysis of key issues in glycoproteomics and sugar group research based on mass spectrometry, and prospecting future development trends in this field.

Professor Yang Lanyuan's team has conducted systematic research on mass spectrometry-based glycoproteomics and glycomics. They developed a series of new methods for glycoprotein/sugar chain enrichment and mass spectrometry, established a new method based on composite nanomaterials, a new strategy based on new covalent reactions, and a collaborative enrichment strategy. A new process for enrichment; a new method for mass spectrometry quantification of glycoproteins/sugar chains was established, a new method for label quantification in enzymatic deglycosylation and a level of glycosylation at the protein level, glycosylation level and sugar chain were proposed. Simultaneous quantification of new methods, etc.; development of new algorithms for high-throughput glycoprotein mass spectrometry. These efforts have improved the research level of glycoproteomics and glycomics in China, and provided new research methods for glycoproteomics and glycomics research.