Glycomic profiling of N- and O-glycans in the trigeminal ganglia of male and female mice
The 5th Annual MSC Emerging Science Contest for Early-Career Investigators took place on January 7, 2026. Below is a description of one of the presentations from the contest. (A recording of the event is available here).
Category: Trigeminal pathways
Runner-up: Krystyna Ann Rybka, Tufts Medical Center
Title: Glycomic profiling of N- and O-glycans in the trigeminal ganglia of male and female mice
Description: This work investigates the trigeminal ganglion (TG), a peripheral nervous system structure where corneal sensory nerves originate to understand what types of carbohydrate structures (glycans) coat these neurons. Glycans play a critical role in neural activity and cellular communication, however, no studies have categorized what glycans are present in TG tissue. We collected the trigeminal ganglia from healthy mice, extracted the N- and O-glycans, and analyzed them using high-resolution mass spectrometry (PGC-LC-MS/MS). This allowed us to identify and measure the different glycan structures present. Mass spectrometry identified 58 unique N-glycans and 16 unique O-glycans, finding that N-glycans were mainly fucosylated (a sugar modification linked to nerve signaling) and O-glycans were mostly sialylated (important for cell-to-cell communication). Overall, the glycan profile of the TG strongly resembles that of the brain with minimal sex differences observed.
These results give the first detailed map of glycan structures in this nerve tissue. This foundational data opens the door to studying how changes in glycosylation might alter nerve sensitivity or responses to injury and inflammation. We hypothesized that the TG contains distinct N- and O-glycan patterns that help regulate sensory nerve behavior, and that defining these patterns could provide novel insights relevant to ocular pain and nerve signaling. No previous work has profiled glycans within the TG, and this work provides the first comprehensive profile of these structures, establishing a baseline for how healthy sensory neurons are glycosylated. This baseline is essential for future studies of disease, injury, inflammation, or pain. Corneal pain, dry eye, neuropathy, migraine, and post-surgical nerve dysfunction all involve trigeminal sensory pathways. Understanding their glycan makeup may uncover new biomarkers of nerve dysfunction or identify glycan-dependent mechanisms that can be targeted to reduce pain or abnormal sensitivity.