Development of an all-in-one technology for glycan profiling targeting formalin-embedded tissue sections

Abstract An ultra-sensitive method for glycan analysis targeting small tissue sections (1.5 mm in diameter) is described as an application of a recently-established lectin microarray technology. The developed system achieved a high level of detection of a tissue section consisting of approximately 500 cells for differential profiling, where both N - and O -glycans attached to a pool of glycoproteins are subjected to multiplex analysis with 43 lectins. By using an optimized protocol for differential glycan analysis, sections of adenocarcinoma ( n  = 28) and normal epithelia ( n  = 12) of the colon were analyzed in an all-in-one manner. As a result, Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA) was found to clearly differentiate cancerous from normal epithelia with P