Context for all publications below: Carbohydrates/glycans are tree-shaped sugar chains studded on the cell surface of virtually all of life. They are the first point of contact for any object that wants to interact with the cell. Hence they perform vital functions like immune response, signaling, cell-cell adhesion, and so on.
2026
Pareto-optimal synthesis of multiple glycans in Golgi compartments
Glycans – tree-shaped sugar chains covalently bonded to proteins in the plasma membrane engage in multiple functions at the cell-surface, making their correct manufacture to be of vital importance. In eukaryotes, they are manufactured in a compartmentalized fashion by an organelle called the Golgi apparatus. A trade-off arises during this processes: if glycans stay for a short time in a compartment they might not get fully made, but if they stay too long unwanted modifications might happen. We study how the Golgi might reconcile this trade-off.
Development of Deep-Learning Models that Predict Quantitative Protein-Ligand Interactions in Glycobiology as a part of a Capstone Course
Haoyan Yin, Weibo Liu, Weihang Zhou, and 6 more authors
Predicting glycan-protein interactions is tough partly because glycans are really flexible and partly because there’s not enough data. We ask if combining data from multiple sources and using deep learning can help. Non-spoiler alert: not really.
2024
Cell-surface glycans are quantitative reporters of Golgi dysfunction in single cells
Prachi Joshi, Aashish Satyajith, Debiprasad Panda, and 3 more authors
Glycans – tree-shaped sugar chains that stick out of eukaryotic cells – perform many functions at the cell surface essentially making multicellularity possible. One of their functions is to convey information about the cell it is on to its surroundings. In this paper, we look at how this information gets decoded by surrounding entities.