HomeDate: 2025-03-31
Cancer, a major global killer, claimed 9.7 million lives among 20 million new cases in 2022, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Led by Dr. Chi-Huey Wong and Dr. Che Ma at Academia Sinica’s Genomics Research Center, the researchers explore β-1,3-galactosyltransferase 5 (β3GalT5). This enzyme drives production of cancer-linked glycans (e.g., Globo-H), fueling tumor growth and metastasis—making it a prime therapeutic target. Using X-ray crystallography, the team mapped β3GalT5’s structure and mechanism, revealing its broad substrate specificity. They engineered an S66A variant, boosting glycan synthesis efficiency tenfold, aiding vaccine production for cancers like triple-negative breast cancer.
Two studies were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (March 2025) and were funded by Academia Sinica.
