EPSRC-SFI: Glycoconjugate tools for sensing endoglycosidase activity: a diagnostic sugar probe for heparanase

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This work will use exploratory scientific research to help further understand, and potentially disrupt, the way that cancer cells spread. This process is called angiogenesis and is central to all cancers. A critical part of angiogenesis is controlled by enzymes within cells that regulate the extracellular environment. More specifically, these enzymes act by breaking down biologically important carbohydrate molecules, called heparan sulfates, whose function is to switch on cellular signalling cascades, effectively initiating angiogenesis. We intend to design and synthesise a series of molecular carbohydrate tools that would be capable of detecting the activity of one of these key enzymes, called heparanase. Using our combined inter-disciplinary knowledge of synthetic carbohydrate chemistry and molecular sensing technology we will design and build molecular probes that can detect the activity of heparanase. The existence of this technology would then enable the future development of research programmes that use these tools to screen for and subsequently select potential inhibitors of heparanase, providing a route towards new therapeutic strategies against cancer.