Characterization of serum N-glycome alterations in seasonal allergic rhinitis using MALDI-TOF-MS: A pilot study

Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) is an inflammatory process. In this pilot study, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS)-based analyses were conducted to investigate the effects of SAR on serum N-glycome in a small dataset (n = 10 for both SAR patients and controls). It was detected that two N-glycan compositions (H6N5E2L1 and H6N5E1L2) were down-regulated in SAR patients. Additionally, five tri-antennary N-glycan traits, including both galactosylated and sialylated (A3GS and A3GL) and non-fucosylated (A3F0GE, A3F0GL, A3F0GS) ones, were decreased. Furthermore, three high-antennary and fucosylated N-glycan traits (A3F, A3EF and A4F) were increased in SAR patients compared to controls.