FUT-8 emerges as a potential molecular target for prostate cancer therapy

A group from Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle, UK has reported that FUT-8 could be a a druggable target for prostate cancer therapy.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12086987/

It has been shown that FUT8 as an important driver of prostate cancer progression and points to the need for further characterization of core fucosylation in prostate tumours.
Given the critical roles of FUT8 in prostate cancer biology, it is poised to be a druggable target for cancer therapy.

Identification of bacterial species by applying a machine learning method to LPS glycan profiles obtained by using several lectins

A group from Department of Chemistry, Pavillon Alexandre-Vachon, 1045, avenue de la Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada has reported Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) detection and its bacteria identification with using a panel of several lectins and by applying a machine learning method on it.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12019741/

The sensing and classification of LPS, which are pivotal constituents of Gram-negative bacteria, are fundamentally important in fields such as healthcare, environmental monitoring, and food safety.

This study presents a new approach utilizing a panel of lectins (from 2 to 7 kinds) immobilized on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. Each glycan binding profile, which is unique to the bacteria, was used to identify the species of bacteria combining with a machine learning method with high accuracy. Used machine learning methods were Random Forest (RF), k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN), and Support Vector Machine (SVM).

It seems that this kind of detection method using multi-probes combined with a machine learning method is a recent trend in sensing applications.

Sialic Acid Acetylation is down-regulated in Ulcerative Colitis

A group from Center for Clinical Mass Spectrometry, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China etc. has reported about SIAE-Mediated Loss of Sialic Acid Acetylation Contributes to Ulcerative Colitis (UC).
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12011031/

In this study, the changes in proteins and glycoproteins in UC compared to healthy controls were analyzed by Mass Spectroscopy.
It was found that sialic acids and their acetylation are reduced in tissues of patients with UC, while sialylation and O-acetylation are more abundant in healthy controls.

Sialic acid, particularly when acetylated, plays a protective role in the colon by preventing inflammation through mechanisms such as modulating immune cell interactions and shielding the intestinal lining from harmful bacteria, acting as a barrier against excessive immune response in the gut.

Are lectins only used in medicine? No, there is good potential in the agricultural field too!

A group from Instituto de Química, Departamento de Química de Biomacromoléculas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México has reported about a novel family of lectins, named mytilectins, discovered in bivalve mollusks from view points of glycan binding properties and applications.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813025028909?via%3Dihub

Lectins have been evaluated as a probe molecule for tatrgeting tumore cells and also as a therapeutic agant from a medical view point. This paper is proposing to use lectins as a biocontrol agent against phytopathogenic fungi in an agricaltural field.

The antifungal and antioomycete activity of mitilectins against two true fungi and two oomycetes that impact economically in crops are shown in this paper. Mytilectins inhibited fully the growth of the fungi Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporum, as well as the oomycetes Phytophthora capsici and Pythium aphanidermatum. Notably, it is remarkable that mytilectins demonstrated greater inhibition than the commercial antifungal control agent (CAPTAN).

Human Lectin Array

A group from Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom has published a paper using human lectin array.
Human Lectin Array

The paper mentioned aboove is the one which was presented about application of a human lectin array at Glyco 26 which was held in Taipei, Aug 27-Sept 1 2023.
39 kinds of human lectins are immobilized on a slide glass.

A conventional existing Lectin array such as LecChip is using mainly plant lectins. I should say that it is GOOD enough in comparative glycan profiling analysis. However, in order to investigate interactions between human body and pathogens, it would be better to use this kind of human lectin arrays rather than conventional lectin arrays.

Environment construction and Python script examples for performing machine learning on glycan structures, cell types, etc. using deep learning using LecChip (lectin microarray) data

In order to use LecChip (lectin microarray) data to identify the structure of glycan structures, cell types, etc., it is effective to use Deep learning on a large amount of data.
The preparations required for this work are as follows.
Python(Anaconda3 is used below)
Tensorflow
Keras
First of all, you need to install these software on your PC and create an environment.

Our product “SA/DL Easy” eliminates such the hassle preparation in advance and allows you to configure Deep learning networks with just a click of a mouse.
Using SA/DL Easy, you can easily enjoy the world for Deep learning without writing scripts like the one below.
When executing the following scripts on your PC, please make sure if the path of the Python script is saved, the path of the saved input data, the path of the folder where the learning results and test results are correctly specified.
———————————————————————————————
# An example of Deep learning Python Script for identifing glycan structures, cell types, etc. using LecChip data.

from __future__ import print_function
import numpy as np
import csv
import pandas
from keras.datasets import mnist
from keras.models import Sequential
from keras.layers.core import Dense, Dropout, Activation
from keras.optimizers import RMSprop
from keras.utils import np_utils
from make_tensorboard import make_tensorboard

np.random.seed(1671) # for reproducibility

# network and training
NB_EPOCH = 100 # how many times you want to let them learn.
BATCH_SIZE = 2  # divide the dataset into several subsets
VERBOSE = 1
NB_CLASSES = 2 # final output number
OPTIMIZER = RMSprop() # optimizer
N_HIDDEN = 45  # number of nodes in the hidden layer is set to 45 here according to the number of lectins used in LecChip.
VALIDATION_SPLIT = 0.2 # percentage of the training data used as test data
DROPOUT = 0.3
LECTINS = 45

def drop(df):
return df[pandas.to_numeric(df.iloc[:, 2], errors=’coerce’).notnull()]

# data is normalized so that the maximum value is 1.
def normalize_column(d):
dmax = np.max(d)
dmin = np.min(d)
return (np.log10(d + 1.0) – np.log10(dmin + 1.0)) / \
(np.log10(dmax + 1.0) – np.log10(dmin + 1.0))

def normalize(data):
return np.apply_along_axis(normalize_column, 0, data)

# The input data should be in CSV file format
df1 = drop(pandas.read_csv(r’c:\Users\Masao\Anaconda3\DL_scripts\cell.csv’)).reset_index(drop=True)
X_train = normalize(df1.iloc[:, 2:].astype(np.float64))
family_column = df1.iloc[:, 1]
family_list = sorted(list(set(family_column)))
Y_train = np.array([family_list.index(f) for f in family_column])

df2 = drop(pandas.read_csv(r’c:\Users\Masao\Anaconda3\DL_scripts\cell_test.csv’)).reset_index(drop=True)
X_test = normalize(df2.iloc[:, 2:].astype(np.float64))
familyt_column = df2.iloc[:, 1]
familyt_list = sorted(list(set(familyt_column)))
Y_test = np.array([familyt_list.index(f) for f in familyt_column])

print(X_train.shape[0], ‘train samples’)
print(X_test.shape[0], ‘test samples’)

# convert class vectors to binary class matrices
Y_train = np_utils.to_categorical(Y_train, NB_CLASSES)
Y_test = np_utils.to_categorical(Y_test, NB_CLASSES)

print(X_train)
print(Y_train)
print(X_test)
print(Y_test)

# An example of neural network configuration
# 2 hidden layers
# Input is LecChip data (using 45 lectins)
# The final layer is activated with softmax

model = Sequential()
model.add(Dense(N_HIDDEN, input_shape=(LECTINS,)))
model.add(Activation(‘relu’))
model.add(Dropout(DROPOUT))
model.add(Dense(N_HIDDEN))
model.add(Activation(‘relu’))
model.add(Dropout(DROPOUT))
model.add(Dense(NB_CLASSES))
model.add(Activation(‘softmax’))
model.summary()

# to visualize the learning and the test results with Tensorboard
callbacks = [make_tensorboard(set_dir_name=’Glycan_Profile’)]

model.compile(loss=’categorical_crossentropy’,
optimizer=OPTIMIZER,
metrics=[‘accuracy’])

model.fit(X_train, Y_train,
batch_size=BATCH_SIZE, epochs=NB_EPOCH,
callbacks=callbacks,
verbose=VERBOSE, validation_split=VALIDATION_SPLIT)

score = model.evaluate(X_test, Y_test, verbose=VERBOSE)
print(“\nTest score:”, score[0])
print(‘Test accuracy:’, score[1])

————————————————————————————
# Python Script for using Tensorboard

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from __future__ import absolute_import
from __future__ import unicode_literals
from time import gmtime, strftime
from keras.callbacks import TensorBoard
import os

def make_tensorboard(set_dir_name=”):
ymdt = strftime(“%a_%d_%b_%Y_%H_%M_%S”, gmtime())
directory_name = ymdt
log_dir = set_dir_name + ‘_’ + directory_name
os.mkdir(log_dir)
tensorboard = TensorBoard(log_dir=log_dir, write_graph=True, )
return tensorboard

————————————————————————————
To visualize the learning and test results,
run $ make_tensorboard.py,
run $ tensorboard –logdir=./Glycan_Profile_Mon_10_Feb_2025_23_06_26 (./folder where data is recorded),
and access http://localhost:6006/ with your browser.

(base) PS C:\Users\masao\Anaconda3\DL_Scripts> python make_tensorboard.py
Using TensorFlow backend.
(base) PS C:\Users\masao\Anaconda3\DL_Scripts> tensorboard –logdir=./Glycan_Profile_Mon_10_Feb_2025_23_06_26
Serving TensorBoard on localhost; to expose to the network, use a proxy or pass –bind_all
TensorBoard 2.0.2 at http://localhost:6006/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)

—————————————————————————————————-
LecChip data is in CSV format as shown below.
From the left, the sample name, family name (this will be the training data), and numerical values ​​of various lectins are listed.

—————————————————————————————————-
After the training, you should save the model.
If the model was saved, it could be restored, and unknown data can be given to make predictions.
Those scripts will be uploaded separately for your information.

Vision for the Evolution of AI

Sam Altman of OpenAI gave a talk at the University of Tokyo on the “Vision for the Evolution of AI”.

The following is a quote from what was said in the talk:
When a student asked, “How do you think society will change in the next 10, 30, or 100 years?”, Altman replied, “In 10 years, AI will accelerate advances in science and technology, in 30 years, all aspects of society will be integrated with AI and will evolve together, and as for what the future will look like 100 years from now, it’s hard to imagine at this point, but human life will be completely different than it is now.”

It is certain that advances in AI will have positive impacts on human life. However, this will remain true as long as AI will be just a human tool. This is very similar to the situation where someone asks someone else to do something that they think is troublesome or time-consuming for him/her. It’s just like that the other person here has been replaced by AI. By having someone do the troublesome and time-consuming tasks for you, you can focus on more productive works. As AI’s inference capabilities improve further, unseen solutions that humans have never thought of may be discovered, and thereby science and technology will advance at an accelerated speed.

The problem is 100 years from now. If AI’s abilities exceed those of humans, we will probably lose the will to fight intelligently, just as ordinary people would when they encountered a genius they couldn’t compete with. There is a strong possibility that this feeling of inferiority, that you cannot win even if you think about it, will deprive you of motivation, and that humans will simply become animals that are used by AI.
In that era, people were liberated from production activities, and intellectual activities, which were once a source of income, became worthless in the face of an AI that could neither fight nor win, and became nothing more than just an existence for fun?

The only way to overcome this problem that we will encounter at this point is for humans to evolve in the same way as AI and acquire abilities that are equal to or better than AI. It will be an era where AI and the human brain will merge. At that time, if this creature can be called a human? I’m not even sure that.

Galectins are not just β-galacside binding lectins, but have multifaceted functions

A group from Axe of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Quebec-Université Laval Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, and Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, Laval University, Quebec, Canada etc. has reviewed about the multifaceted roles of galectins in self-defense.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1044532324000642?via%3Dihub#bib63

Unlike other lectins, galectins lack signal peptides, so they are synthesized as soluble, non-glycosylated proteins in the cytosol, where glycan ligands are absent. Further, certain galectins, such as galectin-1 and galectin-3, have been found to translocate to the nucleus under specific conditions. This presents a paradox: galectins’ primary location is in the cytosol, an environment devoid of the glycans they bind.

Interestingly, however, galectins are also capable of reaching the extracellular space via a non-classical, leaderless secretory pathway.

This unique distribution of galectins both inside and outside the cell underscores their versatility, suggesting a layered regulatory mechanism that allows galectin function in host defense to be modulated both by their synthesis and by the spatial control of their access to ligands, extending their evolutionary role beyond traditional glycan recognition.

This must be one of the good reviews about Galectins.

A new lectin ALA might be effective on CCA treatments

A group from Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand has reported about a new lectin ALA extracted from the seeds of Artocarpus lakoocha.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-84444-7

ALA exhibits agglutinin activity and has binding specificity to T- and Tn-associated glycoproteins and monosaccharides such as Gal and GalNAc.

It was confirmed that glycans identified by ALA were elevated in human Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) tissues.
ALA significantly reduced cell viability of CCA cells, KKU-100 and KKU-213B, in a dose-dependent manner (up to 30 µg/mL) with approximately a 30% decrease observed at the highest concentration. And also, ALA significantly reduced the migration and invasion ability of KKU-100 and KKU-213B cells in a dose-dependent manner with 1–2 µg/mL which did not affect cell viability.

These results suggest their therapeutic potential effects on CCA treatments.

Glycan binding specificity of marine lectins

A group from School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia has summarized about marine lectins and applicationn to human brain tumores.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11679326/

HOL-18 from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai binds to complex N-glycans
OXYL from marine star Anneissia japonica binds to LacNAc type 2 but does not bind to LacNAc type 1
AVL from marine sponge Aphrocallistes vastus binds to sialylated-mucin glycans
ESA from the seaweed Eucheuma serra binds to high mannose N-glycans
UPL1 from the seaweed Ulva pertusa binds to GlcNAc and high-mannose glycans
BPL2 from the seaweed Bryopsis plumosa binds to trimannosyl core
KSL from red alga Kappaphycus striatus binds to high mannose N-glycans
DIFBL from the sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax binds to fucose
APL from starfish Asterina pectinifera binds to Tn antigen
CGL from the bivalve Crenomytilus grayanus binds to GalNAc/Gal and recognizes Gb3
MytiLec from the Mediterranean mussel also binds to Gb3
HCL from the marine sponge Haliclona cratera binds to binds to GalNAc/Gal
DTL from the ascidian Didemnum ternatanum binds to GlcNAc