The effects of edible bird’s nest on T-lymphocyte proliferation, secondary lymphoid organs, and interleukin-2 production

Comprehensive site- and structure-specific profiling of N-glycosylation of edible bird's nest (EBN) proteome using label-free quantitative glycoproteomics

Glycoproteins, which are involved in numerous biological functions, are among the most critical functional ingredients in an edible bird's nest (EBN). To gain a comprehensive understanding of the glycoprotein species within EBN, a label-free, site-specific glycoproteomic approach was used to analyze their N-glycoproteins, N-glycopeptides, and N-glycans systematically. A total of 127 N-glycoproteins were identified in EBN, of which 72 were found in house-EBN and 63 in cave-EBN, yielding 4195 and 5649 glycopeptides, respectively. Eight N-glycoproteins were common to both types, comprising 288 intact N-glycopeptides and 235 N-glycans. The results showed a relatively high abundance of terminally sialylated and core fucosylated N-glycans in EBN. Moreover, through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses, it was observed that EBN N-glycoproteins predominantly participated in neurodegeneration-multiple illness, cell adhesion molecules, TNF signaling, and TGF-beta signaling pathways. These findings provide insights into EBN glycoprotein site-specific N-glycosylation and its biological roles and processes.

Comparative proteomic analysis of edible bird's nest from different origins

Edible bird's nest (EBN) mainly made of saliva that secreted by a variety of swiftlets is a kind of precious traditional Chinese medicine. EBNs from different biological and geographical origins exhibit varieties in morphology, material composition, nutritive value and commercial value. Here, we collected four different EBN samples from Huaiji, China (Grass EBN), Nha Trang, Vietnam (Imperial EBN) and East Kalimantan, Indonesia (White EBN and Feather EBN) respectively, and applied label-free quantitative MS-based proteomics technique to identify its protein composition. First, phylogenetic analysis was performed based on cytb gene to identify its biological origin. Second, a total of 37 proteins of EBNs were identified, among which there were six common proteins that detected in all samples and exhibited relatively higher content. Gene ontology analysis revealed the possible function of EBN proteins, and principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis based on 37 proteins were performed to compare the difference of various EBNs. In summary, our study deciphered the common and characteristic protein components of EBNs of different origins and described their possible functions by GO enrichment analysis, which helps to establish an objective and reliable quality evaluation system.