{
  "abstract": "Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies, largely due to the lack of reliable biomarkers for early detection. Aberrant glycosylation presents a promising source of diagnostic signatures, yet polysialic acid (polySia), a distinctive glycan, has remained underexplored, primarily owing to limitations in detection methods and recognition tools. Here, we report the development of a polySia “superbinder,” a nanoscale molecularly imprinted polymer (nanoMIP) that exhibits superior specificity and affinity for polySia over monoclonal antibodies, enabling precise recognition and quantification of this glycan. Leveraging this superbinder, we uncover a previously unrecognized association between polySia and pancreatic cancer and establish polysialylated CD56 (polySia-CD56) as a specific and robust biomarker. PolySia-CD56 outperforms multiple previously reported pancreatic cancer biomarkers, including the clinical standard carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9). Notably, its expression pattern is complementary to that of CA19-9, and the combined use of both biomarkers significantly enhances diagnostic accuracy to 94.1%, effectively addressing the limitation of CA19-9 in detecting CA19-9-negative patients. Together, this study not only identifies polySia-CD56 as a precise biomarker for pancreatic cancer but also highlights the potential of antiglycan nanoMIPs as transformative reagents for decoding glycosylated targets and advancing clinical translation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023, China",
    "Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China",
    "Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China",
    "Comprehensive Cancer Center, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lingrui Huang",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-2228-1965"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Song Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Qi Li",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2087-3610"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Fang Jin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anqi Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xiawen Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yanrong Wen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wenyan Guan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jie Shen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jian He"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zhen Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8440-2554"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92y9mqg62jef2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2611747123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13732032/",
  "id": "92y9mqg62jef2",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2611747123",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "403"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "410"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Applied Biological Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biological Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Chemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Physical Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7224094024",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13732032",
  "pmid": "42949981",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "National Academy of Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92y9mqg62jef2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:22:05Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13732032",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2611747123"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A glycan superbinder reveals polysialylated-CD56 as a precision biomarker for pancreatic cancer",
  "title_text": "A glycan superbinder reveals polysialylated-CD56 as a precision biomarker for pancreatic cancer",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:22:05Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/92y9mqg62jef2",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}