Ten Feizi

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Ten Feizi

FMedSci FRS
Born1937 (age 85–86) [1]
Nicosia, British Cyprus [1]
Alma mater University College London
Royal Free Medical School
Scientific career
Institutions Imperial College London
Columbia University
Rockefeller University
Hammersmith Hospital
Thesis Cold agglutinins and mycoplasma pneumoniae  (1969)

Ten Feizi FMedSci FRS (born in 1937 [1] ) is a British molecular biologist who is Professor and Director of the Glycosciences Laboratory at Imperial College London. Her research considers the structure and function of glycans. She was awarded the Society for Glycobiology Rosalind Kornfeld award in 2014. She was also awarded the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2021.

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1937 to a Turkish Cypriot family, [1] Feizi completed her primary and secondary education in Cyprus before moving to London to continue her studies. [2] She studied medicine at the Royal Free Medical School, and graduated with distinction in 1961. [3] After qualifying as a doctor, Feizi worked as a registrar in surgery and haematology at the Hammersmith Hospital. [4] During her placement at the Hammersmith, Feizi became interested in atypical pneumonia. [5] Almost one third of patients who suffer from atypical pneumonia develop cold agglutinins in their blood, which are misdirected antibodies that bind to red blood cells. [5] She demonstrated that mycoplasma can stimulate the production of auto-antibodies on binding to red blood cells. [5] She earned her MD degree at University College London, where she researched mycoplasma pneumoniae. [6] As an early career researcher, Feizi joined the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons as an College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia Fellow, where she worked with Elvin A. Kabat on glycans. [5] She was later appointed a research fellow at Rockefeller University, where she extracted carbohydrates in the laboratory of Richard Krause. [4]

Research and career

In 1973 Feizi joined the Medical Research Council Clinical Research Centre, where she was appointed Head of the Glycoconjugates Section. She eventually established the Imperial College London Glycosciences Laboratory. [4] She was made a Professor at Imperial College London in 1994. [4]

Her early research considered cold agglutinins, sensitive, misdirected antibodies that build up following mycoplasma pneumoniae. The antigen on red blood cells that is bound by these cold agglutinins is known as the I antigen . [5] Feizi worked with Sen-itiroh Hakomori to understand this antigen, which she showed was expressed on the carbohydrate backbone. [7] Feizi considered the relationship between the I antigen and mycoplasma, and showed that a sialic-capped form of poly-N-acetyllactosamine acts as a mycoplasma receptor. [7] This directs I antigens to the glycan receptor. She also studied the structures of the Ii antigen system; and established that they existed as both branched and linear poly-N-acetyllactosamine chains. [7] Her research group were the first to sequence the envelope glycoprotein GP120 and elucidate their interactions with the mannose-specific macrophage endocytosis receptor. [8] [9]

Feizi showed that during both cellular differentiation and the transformation of normal cells to tumorous cells, anti-li blood group antibodies could be used to track changes in glycosylation. [7] [10] She studied the ability of animal lectins to bind to oligosaccharides. [7] Her interest in both the structure and recognition of glycans led her to develop a new glycan screening protocol. Feizi created the neoglycolipid (NGL)-based oligosaccharide microarray system, which allowed her to explore the whole spectrum of glycans, specific cells and glycoproteins. [7] [11] [12] In 2002 her system was the first to encompass entire glycomes. [3] Her glycoarray system, which is supported by the Wellcome Trust, is one of the world's most diverse, which allows better understanding of host–pathogen interactions and the interactions between glycans and proteins in disease processes. [5] [3] [13] The system was used to assign the host-cell receptors in SV40 and Influenza A virus subtype H1N1. [14] [15]

Awards

She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists.[ citation needed ] In May 2021 she was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. [18]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

Glycomics is the comprehensive study of glycomes, including genetic, physiologic, pathologic, and other aspects. Glycomics "is the systematic study of all glycan structures of a given cell type or organism" and is a subset of glycobiology. The term glycomics is derived from the chemical prefix for sweetness or a sugar, "glyco-", and was formed to follow the omics naming convention established by genomics and proteomics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycoprotein</span> Protein with oligosaccharide modifications

Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycosylation. Secreted extracellular proteins are often glycosylated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycome</span>

The glycome is the entire complement of sugars, whether free or present in more complex molecules, of an organism. An alternative definition is the entirety of carbohydrates in a cell. The glycome may in fact be one of the most complex entities in nature. "Glycomics, analogous to genomics and proteomics, is the systematic study of all glycan structures of a given cell type or organism" and is a subset of glycobiology.

Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living things and aspects of the various roles they play in biology are researched in various medical, biochemical and biotechnological fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lectin</span> Carbohydrate-binding protein

Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are highly specific for sugar groups that are part of other molecules, so cause agglutination of particular cells or precipitation of glycoconjugates and polysaccharides. Lectins have a role in recognition at the cellular and molecular level and play numerous roles in biological recognition phenomena involving cells, carbohydrates, and proteins. Lectins also mediate attachment and binding of bacteria, viruses, and fungi to their intended targets.

Glycosylation is the reaction in which a carbohydrate, i.e. a glycosyl donor, is attached to a hydroxyl or other functional group of another molecule in order to form a glycoconjugate. In biology, glycosylation usually refers to an enzyme-catalysed reaction, whereas glycation may refer to a non-enzymatic reaction.

An oligosaccharide is a saccharide polymer containing a small number of monosaccharides. Oligosaccharides can have many functions including cell recognition and cell adhesion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Envelope glycoprotein GP120</span> Glycoprotein exposed on the surface of the HIV virus

Envelope glycoprotein GP120 is a glycoprotein exposed on the surface of the HIV envelope. It was discovered by Professors Tun-Hou Lee and Myron "Max" Essex of the Harvard School of Public Health in 1988. The 120 in its name comes from its molecular weight of 120 kDa. Gp120 is essential for virus entry into cells as it plays a vital role in attachment to specific cell surface receptors. These receptors are DC-SIGN, Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan and a specific interaction with the CD4 receptor, particularly on helper T-cells. Binding to CD4 induces the start of a cascade of conformational changes in gp120 and gp41 that lead to the fusion of the viral membrane with the host cell membrane. Binding to CD4 is mainly electrostatic although there are van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds.

The terms glycans and polysaccharides are defined by IUPAC as synonyms meaning "compounds consisting of a large number of monosaccharides linked glycosidically". However, in practice the term glycan may also be used to refer to the carbohydrate portion of a glycoconjugate, such as a glycoprotein, glycolipid, or a proteoglycan, even if the carbohydrate is only an oligosaccharide. Glycans usually consist solely of O-glycosidic linkages of monosaccharides. For example, cellulose is a glycan composed of β-1,4-linked D-glucose, and chitin is a glycan composed of β-1,4-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Glycans can be homo- or heteropolymers of monosaccharide residues, and can be linear or branched.

Sialyl-Lewis <sup>X</sup> Chemical compound

Sialyl LewisX (sLeX), also known as cluster of differentiation 15s (CD15s) or stage-specific embryonic antigen 1 (SSEA-1), is a tetrasaccharide carbohydrate which is usually attached to O-glycans on the surface of cells. It is known to play a vital role in cell-to-cell recognition processes. It is also the means by which an egg attracts sperm; first, to stick to it, then bond with it and eventually form a zygote. The discovery of the essential role that this tetrasaccharide plays in the fertilization process was reported in August 2011.

<i>GBA2</i> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

GBA2 is the gene that encodes the enzyme non-lysosomal glucosylceramidase in humans. It has glucosylceramidase activity.

Anne Dell is an Australian biochemist specialising in the study of glycomics and the carbohydrate structures that modify proteins. Anne's work could be used to figure out how pathogens such as HIV are able to evade termination by the immune system which could be applied toward understanding how this occurs in fetuses. Her research has also led to the development of higher sensitivity mass spectroscopy techniques which have allowed for the better studying of the structure of carbohydrates. Anne also established GlycoTRIC at Imperial College London, a research center that allows for glycobiology to be better understood in biomedical applications. She is currently Professor of Carbohydrate Biochemistry and Head of the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. Dell's other contributions to the study of Glycobiology are the additions she has made to the textbook "Essentials of Glycobiology" Dell was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

Translational glycobiology or applied glycobiology is the branch of glycobiology and glycochemistry that focuses on developing new pharmaceuticals through glycomics and glycoengineering. Although research in this field presents many difficulties, translational glycobiology presents applications with therapeutic glycoconjugates, with treating various bone diseases, and developing therapeutic cancer vaccines and other targeted therapies. Some mechanisms of action include using the glycan for drug targeting, engineering protein glycosylation for better efficacy, and glycans as drugs themselves.

Glycan arrays, like that offered by the Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG), National Center for Functional Glycomics (NCFG) and Z Biotech, LLC, contain carbohydrate compounds that can be screened with lectins, antibodies or cell receptors to define carbohydrate specificity and identify ligands. Glycan array screening works in much the same way as other microarray that is used for instance to study gene expression DNA microarrays or protein interaction Protein microarrays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Schachter</span>

Harry Schachter FRSC is a Canadian biochemist and glycobiologist, and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and the Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glycan-protein interactions</span> Class of biological intermolecular interactions

Glycan-Protein interactions represent a class of biomolecular interactions that occur between free or protein-bound glycans and their cognate binding partners. Intramolecular glycan-protein (protein-glycan) interactions occur between glycans and proteins that they are covalently attached to. Together with protein-protein interactions, they form a mechanistic basis for many essential cell processes, especially for cell-cell interactions and host-cell interactions. For instance, SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, employs its extensively glycosylated spike (S) protein to bind to the ACE2 receptor, allowing it to enter host cells. The spike protein is a trimeric structure, with each subunit containing 22 N-glycosylation sites, making it an attractive target for vaccine search.

Katherine Jane Doores is a British biochemist who is a senior lecturer in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences at King's College London. During the COVID-19 pandemic Doores studied the levels of antibodies in patients who had suffered from COVID-19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elwira Lisowska</span> Polish biochemist and professor

Elwira Lisowska is a Polish biochemist and professor. She made significant contributions to the biochemistry of human blood groups, especially MNS and P1PK blood group systems, and to the immunochemical characterization of glycopeptide antigens.

Elizabeth Fay Hounsell was a British Professor of Biological Chemistry, Birkbeck, University of London. She specialised in the role of protein glycosylation in cell regulation.

Rosalind Hauk Kornfeld (1935–2007) was a scientist at Washington University in St. Louis known for her research determining the structure and formation of oligosaccharides. The Society of Glycobiology annually awards a lifetime achievement award in her honor.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pioneering Turkish Cypriot scientist awarded prestigious fellowship of the Royal Society, T-Vine, 2021, retrieved 19 May 2021, Lefkoşa-born Professor Feizi... Born in 1937, Ten Feizi completed her primary and secondary schooling in Cyprus before moving to London to continue her studies.
  2. ↑ Kıbrıslı Türk bilim insanı Prof.Dr. Ten Feizi'ye "Fellow of Royal Society" unvanı, Kıbrıs Genç TV, 2021, retrieved 19 May 2021
  3. 1 2 3 "Home - Professor Ten Feizi". www.imperial.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ten Feizi. OCLC   4779868487.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Professor Ten Feizi wins Society for Glycobiology lifetime achievement award | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Feizi, Ten (1969). Cold agglutinins and mycoplasma pneumoniae (Thesis). OCLC   926243918.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr. Ten Feizi wins 2014 Rosalind Kornfeld Award". Society for Glycobiology. Retrieved 19 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ Mizuochi, T.; Spellman, M. W.; Larkin, M.; Solomon, J.; Basa, L. J.; Feizi, T. (1 September 1988). "Carbohydrate structures of the human-immunodeficiency-virus (HIV) recombinant envelope glycoprotein gp120 produced in Chinese-hamster ovary cells". The Biochemical Journal. 254 (2): 599–603. doi:10.1042/bj2540599. ISSN   0264-6021. PMC   1135120 . PMID   2845957.
  9. ↑ Larkin, M.; Childs, R. A.; Matthews, T. J.; Thiel, S.; Mizuochi, T.; Lawson, A. M.; Savill, J. S.; Haslett, C.; Diaz, R.; Feizi, T. (December 1989). "Oligosaccharide-mediated interactions of the envelope glycoprotein gp120 of HIV-1 that are independent of CD4 recognition". AIDS. 3 (12): 793–798. doi:10.1097/00002030-198912000-00003. ISSN   0269-9370. PMID   2561054. S2CID   35223037.
  10. ↑ Feizi, Ten (1985). "Demonstration by monoclonal antibodies that carbohydrate structures of glycoproteins and glycolipids are onco-developmental antigens". Nature. 314 (6006): 53–57. Bibcode:1985Natur.314...53F. doi:10.1038/314053a0. ISSN   0028-0836. PMID   2579340. S2CID   4257789.
  11. ↑ "Carbohydrate microarrays". Imperial College London. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "Carbohydrate Microarray Facility". Imperial College London. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Current composition of NGL-based microarrays". Glyosciences Laboratory. Retrieved 19 March 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ Childs, Robert A.; Palma, Angelina S.; Wharton, Steve; Matrosovich, Tatyana; Liu, Yan; Chai, Wengang; Campanero-Rhodes, Maria A.; Zhang, Yibing; Eickmann, Markus; Kiso, Makoto; Hay, Alan (2009). "Receptor-binding specificity of pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus determined by carbohydrate microarray". Nature Biotechnology. 27 (9): 797–799. doi:10.1038/nbt0909-797. ISSN   1087-0156. PMC   3771066 . PMID   19741625.
  15. ↑ "Wang - SRI International". Division of Cancer Prevention. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  16. ↑ Dell, Anne (1 March 1995). "Congrajulations to:Dr Ten Feizi who is the 1994 recipient of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists Outstanding Research Award Honouring Philip Levine". Glycobiology. 5 (2): 153. doi: 10.1093/glycob/5.2.153 . ISSN   0959-6658.
  17. ↑ "2020 Haworth Memorial Lectureship". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  18. ↑ "Royal Society elects outstanding new Fellows and Foreign Members". The Royal Society. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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