Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a known glyco-biomarker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and identifying glycoprotein biomarkers is useful for clinical diagnosis. CD BioGlyco has established multiple methods to provide AFP detection service to our clients.

Introduction

For many years, it has been known that aberrant glycosylation is associated with various human diseases, especially cancer. Detecting cancer at an early stage that can be treated through surgery is a challenging task. One approach to discovering cancer biomarkers is to exploit the fact that glycoproteins generated by cancer cells have altered the glycan structures, although these proteins themselves are common, abundant, ubiquitous, and familiar. However, since early-stage cancer tissue may account for less than 1% of normal tissue in the relevant organ, only 1% of the associated glycoproteins in serum alter glycan structures. The development of strategies to detect these low-level glycoprotein biomarkers has an important role to reveal the biological significance of disease-associated glycosylation patterns.

An early diagnosis and effective treatment of HCC are now essential to improve the prognosis and reduce the associated economic burden. Serum AFP is by far the most widely used biomarker for HCC screening, early diagnosis, and assessment of efficacy and prognosis. The ability to rapidly detect glycan biomarkers that serve as indicators of pathologies such as infection, inflammation and cancer with high specificity and sensitivity using modern technological tools such as glycobiosensors will undoubtedly provide a better tool for early disease diagnosis.

Fig.1 Glycan analysis of parental Huh7-derived AFP by HPLC and MALDI-TOF-MS. (Nakagawa, 2008)

Our Strategies

To meet the scientific requirements of our customers, CD BioGlyco has established multiple high-sensitivity methods to detect glyco-biomarker AFP. The strategies we offer include but are not limited to:

• Employing quantitative real-time PCR arrays to predict the secreted glycoproteins, followed by lectin microarray analysis to select lectins that distinguish cancer-associated glycan on them.
• Combining HPLC and MALDI-TOF-MS to determine the N-glycan structure of AFP in HCC patients.
• Immunological assays

Applications

• Understanding of the etiologies of HCC
• Early diagnosis of HCC
• Developing personalized treatment for cancer and related diseases
• Monitoring effects and safety of cancer therapies

Advantages of Us

• Rigorous research attitude
• Professional research team
• Multiple valuable strategies
• Detailed after-sales service

CD BioGlyco offers a variety of cost-effective strategies for the detection of the glycoprotein biomarker AFP, allowing clients to choose the best experimental solution for their specific project needs. If you have a demand for scientific assistance, please contact us for further consultation.

Reference

1. Nakagawa, T.; et al. Glycomic analysis of alpha-fetoprotein L3 in hepatoma cell lines and hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Journal of Proteome Research. 2008, 7(6):2222-2233.