A Peptide–Lectin Fusion Strategy for Developing a Glycan Probe for Use in Various Assay Formats

While nucleic acid and protein analysis approaches continue to see significant breakthroughs, analytical strategies for glycan determination have by comparison seen slower technological advances. Here we provide a strategy for glycan probe development using an engineered lectin fusion that can be incorporated into various common pathology lab assay formats including Western blot and agglutination assays. In this proof of concept, we use the natural lectin, Pseudomonas fluorescens agglutinin (PFA), capable of binding core Man alpha(1-3)-Man alpha(1-6)-Man units, where this lectin has previously been shown to bind to the glycans presented by the gp120 coat protein of (HIV) Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In our strategy, we engineered the lectin to possess a fusion of the biotin mimetic tag equence of amino acids V-S-H-P-Q-A-P-F. With the glycan receptive PFA directly linked to the biotin mimic, we could facilitate a probe for various standard clinical assay formats by virtue of coupling to streptavidin-HRP (horseradish peroxidase) or streptavidin beads for Western blot and agglutination assays respectively. We found the PFA fusion retained low nanomolar affinity for gp120 by ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) and microscale thermophoresis. This probe engineering strategy proved effective in the relevant assay formats that may now allow detection for the presence of glycans containing the core Man alpha(1-3)-Man alpha(1-6)-Man units recognized by PFA.