glycosylation

1 9.9

To add a sugar to a protein or another molecule inside a cell

noun
/ɡlaɪˌkoʊsɪˈleɪʃən/

Specialized

: glicosilación

Protein glycosylation is the process of transferring a carbohydrate, usually an oligosaccharide, to a protein.
protein glycosylation
glycosylation sites
glycosylation in cancer

When you don't have glycosylation of LH and FSH, the hormones that tell your testicle and your ovary to work, you are infertile.

Examples

During glycosylation, a sugar molecule is attached to a protein, affecting its stability and function.
Targeting altered glycosylation as an immunotherapeutic strategy is a major field of research in the fight against cancer.

Academic text (2016)
The alterations of glycosylation observed in human cancer reflect several genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic alterations in the tumor cells.

Academic text (2016)
Protein glycosylation in gastrointestinal cancer: molecular mechanisms underlying the aberrant glycan biosynthesis.

Academic text (2016)
Alterations in protein glycosylation are among the main molecular events accompanying oncogenic transformations in the gastric and colorectal tracts 14-16.

Academic text (2016)
The glycosylation of proteins is essential for their proper functioning within the cell.
Research shows that defects in glycosylation can lead to various diseases, including cancer.

Surface Forms

glycosylation singular

glycosylations plural

Morphology

glycosylation = glycosylate (opaque) = glycosyl + ation

Formed by nominalizing the technical verb 'glycosylate' with -ation, but the combining form 'glycosyl' ('sugar') is specialized and not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

The word glycosylation comes from the root glyco- meaning 'sweet' and the ending -ation meaning 'a process', and the same root appears in glucose. A helpful way to remember it is to imagine adding a 'sweet tag' to a protein, so glycosylation is the process of attaching a sugar to a protein or other molecule in the cell.