Deciphering Site-Specific Distribution of N-Glycans on Candidate Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2 Using PAMAF

John Yates’ lab is using MOBILion’s Parallel Accumulation Mobility Aligned Fragmentation (PAMAF) technology to enhance the DeGlyPHER workflow, which enables detailed, site-specific analysis of N-glycosylation in viral spike proteins such as SARS-CoV-2. This method combines sequential deglycosylation with high-sensitivity LC-MS to quantify glycan occupancy and processing, offering insights into the relationship between glycosylation and immune response. DeGlyPHER has been applied to over 200 vaccine candidates, including those for HIV, influenza, and Ebola, advancing understanding of glycoprotein-based immunogen design. This executive summary explains how DeGlyPHER is transforming vaccine development in real time, driving progress toward more effective and consistent immunization strategies, and delivering a more sensitive and high-throughput approach compared to traditional glycoproteomic methods.