# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/glycosylation-and-glycoproteins-research/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research research in the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 underscores a massive 5-fold surge in N-glycosylation research and a striking emergence of NF-κB signaling and sialylation studies. While O-GlcNAcylation focus halved, the field shows an accelerating convergence with cancer immunotherapy, leveraging molecular dynamics and stereoselective synthesis to decode complex glycan functions.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 4,997 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | N-glycosylation, post-translational modification, sialic acid |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 34–105 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved July 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Designed endocytosis-inducing proteins degrade targets and amplify signals | Buwei Huang, Mohamad Abedi, Green Ahn, Brian Coventry, Isaac Sappington, Cong Tang, Rong Wang, Thomas Schlichthaerle, Jason Z Zhang, Yujia Wang, Inna Goreshnik, Ching Wen Chiu, Adam Chazin-Gray, Sidney Chan, Stacey Gerben, Analisa Murray, Shunzhi Wang, Jason O'Neill, Li Yi, Ronald Yeh, Ayesha Misquith, Anitra Wolf, Luke M Tomasovic, Dan I Piraner, Maria J Duran Gonzalez, Nathaniel R Bennett, Preetham Venkatesh, Maggie Ahlrichs, Craig Dobbins, Wei Yang, Xinru Wang, Danny D Sahtoe, Dionne Vafeados, Rubul Mout, Shirin Shivaei, Longxing Cao, Lauren Carter, Lance Stewart, Jamie B Spangler, Kole T Roybal, Per Jr Greisen, Xiaochun Li, Gonçalo J L Bernardes, Carolyn R Bertozzi, David Baker | David Baker | University of Washington, United States | Nature | 105 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07948-2 |
| 2 | Direct radical functionalization of native sugars | Yi Jiang, Yi Wei, Qian-Yi Zhou, Guo-Quan Sun, Xia-Ping Fu, Nikita Levin, Yijun Zhang, Wen-Qiang Liu, NingXi Song, Shabaz Mohammed, Benjamin G Davis, Ming Joo Koh | Benjamin G. Davis, Ming Joo Koh | National University of Singapore, Singapore | Nature | 88 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07548-0 |
| 3 | Complete biosynthesis of the potent vaccine adjuvant QS-21 | Laetitia B B Martin, Shingo Kikuchi, Martin Rejzek, Charlotte Owen, James Reed, Anastasia Orme, Rajesh C Misra, Amr El-Demerdash, Lionel Hill, Hannah Hodgson, Yuzhong Liu, Jay D Keasling, Robert A Field, Andrew W Truman, Anne Osbourn | Anne Osbourn | John Innes Centre, United Kingdom | Nature Chemical Biology | 64 | 10.1038/s41589-023-01538-5 |
| 4 | Mannose metabolism reshapes T cell differentiation to enhance anti-tumor immunity | Yajing Qiu, Yapeng Su, Ermei Xie, Hongcheng Cheng, Jing Du, Yue Xu, Xiaoli Pan, Zhe Wang, Daniel G Chen, Hong Zhu, Philip D Greenberg, Guideng Li | Philip D. Greenberg, Guideng Li | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, China | Cancer Cell | 63 | 10.1016/j.ccell.2024.11.003 |
| 5 | Glycosphingolipid synthesis mediates immune evasion in KRAS-driven cancer | Mariluz Soula, Gokhan Unlu, Rachel Welch, Aleksey Chudnovskiy, Beste Uygur, Vyom Shah, Hanan Alwaseem, Paul Bunk, Vishvak Subramanyam, Hsi-Wen Yeh, Artem Khan, Søren Heissel, Hani Goodarzi, Gabriel D Victora, Semir Beyaz, Kıvanç Birsoy | Kıvanç Birsoy | The Rockefeller University, United States | Nature | 57 | 10.1038/s41586-024-07787-1 |
| 6 | Chemical Synthesis of Human Proteoforms and Application in Biomedicine | Huasong Ai, Man Pan, Lei Liu | Lei Liu | Tsinghua University, China | ACS Central Science | 50 | 10.1021/acscentsci.4c00642 |
| 7 | Restoring protein glycosylation with GlycoShape | Callum M Ives, Ojas Singh, Silvia D'Andrea, Carl A Fogarty, Aoife M Harbison, Akash Satheesan, Beatrice Tropea, Elisa Fadda | Elisa Fadda | Maynooth University, Ireland | Nature Methods | 50 | 10.1038/s41592-024-02464-7 |
| 8 | Avian and Human Influenza A Virus Receptors in Bovine Mammary Gland | Charlotte Kristensen, Henrik E Jensen, Ramona Trebbien, Richard J Webby, Lars E Larsen | Charlotte Kristensen | Københavns Universitet, Denmark | Emerging infectious diseases | 47 | 10.3201/eid3009.240696 |
| 9 | O-GlcNAc forces an α-synuclein amyloid strain with notably diminished seeding and pathology | Aaron T Balana, Anne-Laure Mahul-Mellier, Binh A Nguyen, Mian Horvath, Afraah Javed, Eldon R Hard, Yllza Jasiqi, Preeti Singh, Shumaila Afrin, Rose Pedretti, Virender Singh, Virginia M-Y Lee, Kelvin C Luk, Lorena Saelices, Hilal A Lashuel, Matthew R Pratt | Hilal A. Lashuel, Matthew R. Pratt | University of Southern California, United States | Nature Chemical Biology | 44 | 10.1038/s41589-024-01551-2 |
| 10 | Predicting glycan structure from tandem mass spectrometry via deep learning | James Urban, Chunsheng Jin, Kristina A Thomsson, Niclas G Karlsson, Callum M Ives, Elisa Fadda, Daniel Bojar | Daniel Bojar | University of Gothenburg, Sweden | Nature Methods | 44 | 10.1038/s41592-024-02314-6 |
| 11 | A unique serum IgG glycosylation signature predicts development of Crohn’s disease and is associated with pathogenic antibodies to mannose glycan | Joana Gaifem, Cláudia S Rodrigues, Francesca Petralia, Inês Alves, Eduarda Leite-Gomes, Bruno Cavadas, Ana M Dias, Catarina Moreira-Barbosa, Joana Revés, Renee M Laird, Mislav Novokmet, Jerko Štambuk, Siniša Habazin, Berk Turhan, Zeynep H Gümüş, Ryan Ungaro, Joana Torres, Gordan Lauc, Jean-Frederic Colombel, Chad K Porter, Salomé S Pinho | Salomé S. Pinho | University of Porto, Portugal | Nature Immunology | 43 | 10.1038/s41590-024-01916-8 |
| 12 | Binding of Akkermansia muciniphila to mucin is O-glycan specific | Janneke Elzinga, Yoshiki Narimatsu, Noortje de Haan, Henrik Clausen, Willem M de Vos, Hanne L P Tytgat | Janneke Elzinga, Hanne L. P. Tytgat | Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands | Nature Communications | 42 | 10.1038/s41467-024-48770-8 |
| 13 | Clinical and biochemical footprints of congenital disorders of glycosylation: Proposed nosology | Bobby G Ng, Hudson H Freeze, Nastassja Himmelreich, Nenad Blau, Carlos R Ferreira | Nenad Blau | Sanford Children's Health Research Center, United States | Molecular Genetics and Metabolism | 41 | 10.1016/j.ymgme.2024.108476 |
| 14 | An N-glycome tissue atlas of 15 human normal and cancer tissue types determined by MALDI-imaging mass spectrometry | Elizabeth N Wallace, Connor A West, Colin T McDowell, Xiaowei Lu, Evelyn Bruner, Anand S Mehta, Kiyoko F Aoki-Kinoshita, Peggi M Angel, Richard R Drake | Elizabeth N. Wallace, Richard R. Drake | Medical University of South Carolina, United States | Scientific Reports | 40 | 10.1038/s41598-023-50957-w |
| 15 | Pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts modulate macrophage differentiation via sialic acid-Siglec interactions | Kelly Boelaars, Ernesto Rodriguez, Zowi R Huinen, Chang Liu, Di Wang, Babet O Springer, Katarzyna Olesek, Laura Goossens-Kruijssen, Thomas van Ee, Dimitri Lindijer, Willemijn Tak, Aram de Haas, Laetitia Wehry, Joline P Nugteren-Boogaard, Aleksandra Mikula, Charlotte M de Winde, Reina E Mebius, David A Tuveson, Elisa Giovannetti, Maarten F Bijlsma, Manfred Wuhrer, Sandra J van Vliet, Yvette van Kooyk | Yvette van Kooyk | Amsterdam UMC, Netherlands | Communications Biology | 38 | 10.1038/s42003-024-06087-8 |
| 16 | Phenylboronic acid-functionalized biomaterials for improved cancer immunotherapy via sialic acid targeting | Ashok Kumar Jangid, Kyobum Kim | Kyobum Kim | Dongguk University, South Korea | Advances in Colloid and Interface Science | 38 | 10.1016/j.cis.2024.103301 |
| 17 | Protein glycosylation in cardiovascular health and disease | John C Chatham, Rakesh P Patel | John C. Chatham | University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States | Nature Reviews Cardiology | 37 | 10.1038/s41569-024-00998-z |
| 18 | Integrated chemoenzymatic synthesis of a comprehensive sulfated ganglioside glycan library to decipher functional sulfoglycomics and sialoglycomics | Zhuojia Xu, Yating Liu, Jialin Liu, Wenjing Ma, Zhumin Zhang, Digantkumar G Chapla, Liuqing Wen, Kelley W Moremen, Wen Yi, Tiehai Li | Tiehai Li | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Nature Chemistry | 37 | 10.1038/s41557-024-01540-x |
| 19 | Sialylated glycoproteins suppress immune cell killing by binding to Siglec-7 and Siglec-9 in prostate cancer | Ru M Wen, Jessica C Stark, G Edward W Marti, Zenghua Fan, Aram Lyu, Fernando Jose Garcia Marques, Xiangyue Zhang, Nicholas M Riley, Sarah M Totten, Abel Bermudez, Rosalie Nolley, Hongjuan Zhao, Lawrence Fong, Edgar G Engleman, Sharon J Pitteri, Carolyn R Bertozzi, James D Brooks | Ru M Wen | Department of Urology, United States | Journal of Clinical Investigation | 36 | 10.1172/jci180282 |
| 20 | Rapid simulation of glycoprotein structures by grafting and steric exclusion of glycan conformer libraries | Yu-Xi Tsai, Ning-En Chang, Klaus Reuter, Hao-Ting Chang, Tzu-Jing Yang, Sören von Bülow, Vidhi Sehrawat, Noémie Zerrouki, Matthieu Tuffery, Michael Gecht, Isabell Louise Grothaus, Lucio Colombi Ciacchi, Yong-Sheng Wang, Min-Feng Hsu, Kay-Hooi Khoo, Gerhard Hummer, Shang-Te Danny Hsu, Cyril Hanus, Mateusz Sikora | Shang‐Te Danny Hsu, Cyril Hanus, Mateusz Sikora | Academia Sinica, Taiwan | Cell | 34 | 10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.034 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 is dominated by foundational studies in N-glycosylation and its role as a key post-translational modification. Sialic acid biology remains highly prominent, reflecting its importance in cellular interactions and immune evasion. We observe a strong representation of structural and mechanistic approaches, notably molecular dynamics simulations and stereoselective synthesis of glycans, which are essential for dissecting complex glycosylation patterns. Furthermore, the intersection of glycobiology with immunology is a major theme, highlighted by concepts like cancer immunotherapy, the tumor microenvironment, and immune checkpoint regulation.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

We see a dramatic surge in specific signaling and structural topics. NF-κB signaling and generalized sialylation emerged from a near-zero baseline frequency in 2025 to become prominent themes in 2026. N-glycosylation research also experienced a massive 5-fold increase in representation, underscoring a renewed focus on this core modification. Cancer immunotherapy applications similarly tripled in frequency. Conversely, O-GlcNAcylation research decreased by half compared to the previous cohort, alongside slight decreases in general post-translational modification focus. Overall, the data indicates a shift away from broader profiling towards specific, translationally relevant pathways like immune evasion and specialized sialic acid signaling.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Glycosylation and Glycoproteins Research Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/glycosylation-and-glycoproteins-research/2026. Accessed 2026-07-21.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```