Protein Glycosylation and Human Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Glycosylation is the most diverse posttranslational protein modification and is profoundly involved in a plethora of biological processes, including disease development and aggravation. Despite recent analytical developments, many aspects of the glycosylation process still remain unknown, both in health and disease. Contrary to genetic biomarkers, which are set for a lifetime, human glycome is dynamic and undergoes changes in response to physiological triggers, immune challenges and pathophysiological processes. Thus, most human diseases, including inflammatory, autoimmune, infectious and cardiometabolic diseases, and cancer, show associations with specific changes in glycan composition that often precede disease onset. As the structural diversity of glycome represents a complex pool of information, glycosylation changes can be specific for the disease and/or disease stage, which makes them valuable diagnostic and prognostic markers as well as a target for therapeutic interventions.

In this context, this Special Issue is collecting research articles and targeted reviews that address the most recent advances related to protein glycosylation in common complex diseases. Contributions that cover the development and improvements of analytical approaches for glycosylation analysis are very welcome, as well as research describing applications of state-of-the-art glycoprofiling methods and technologies in monitoring glycosylation pattern changes during disease development, progression and intervention (e.g., response to therapy, lifestyle changes). Finally, we welcome new insights that elucidate the structural and functional implications of glycoprotein heterogeneity in complex pathologies.

Prof. Dr. Gordan Lauc
Dr. Maja Pucic Bakovic
Dr. Ivan Gudelj
Dr. Tamara Štambuk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.