A clear glass Y-shaped antibody sculpture with small gold sugar chains on its stem, beside a small vial of blood, on travertine.

Diagnostic menu


Immune Ageing & Glycan Biology

A glycan-based view of biological ageing.

Finger-prick blood sample, collected at home.

  • Home collectionFinger-prick blood sample
  • Personalised reportBiological age and glycan indexes
  • Specialist interpretationAn included 1:1 result call

Overview

See a biological signal in context

Immune Ageing & Glycan Biology analyses glycans attached to immunoglobulin G (IgG), an antibody in your blood. It provides a biological age estimate and insights into glycan patterns associated with inflammation and ageing.

You may feel well and have routine blood results within their reference ranges. IgG glycan profiling examines a different biological layer: patterns linked to immune regulation and age-related inflammation. It can add context to your health assessment, alongside symptoms, history and conventional tests. Use your result to discuss sleep, nutrition, activity, stress and recovery with a specialist.

  • 01
    • An age in years from IgG glycan patterns
    • Compared with your chronological age
    • Reflects this biomarker model, not the age of every organ
  • 02
    • Shield (S)
    • Youth (G2)
    • Mature (G0)
    • Supporting indexes for more detail
  • 03
    • Personalised health insights
    • An included 1:1 result call
    • Additional specialist sessions for follow-up

What is measured

What your report includes

A clear starting point for discussing your biology and planning follow-up.

  • An age in years derived from IgG glycan patterns and compared with your chronological age. It reflects this biomarker model, rather than the age of every organ.
  • Shield (S), Youth (G2) and Mature (G0), describing patterns associated with anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory IgG characteristics.
  • Additional indexes add detail to your glycan profile, interpreted together with the primary results and your clinical context.
  • Relevant lifestyle factors and priorities for your specialist to review. A report category does not independently diagnose a condition.
  • An included call helps you understand your report, possible influences on the result and sensible next steps.
  • A suggested interval for repeat testing, agreed with your specialist.

Inside the report

What the report shows

Inside the sample report

Biological age333350 · chronologicalOptimalSuboptimal
  • Exceptional immune regulation
  • Low chronic inflammation
Primary glycan indexes
Shield (S)Anti-inflammatory index
81st percentile
Youth (G2)Anti-inflammatory index
53rd percentile
Mature (G0)Pro-inflammatory index
29th percentile
Supportive glycan indexes
Median (G1)Supportive index
91st percentile
Variance (RS)Supportive index
15th percentile

Bars run from suboptimal to optimal; for pro-inflammatory and variance indexes, lower is optimal.

When to retest9–12 monthsExample recommendation, agreed with your specialist. Earlier after a significant change in medication or lifestyle.
Illustrative sample report with example data, including an age estimate of 33 years. This is not your result or a predicted outcome. Your result is most useful when considered with medical history, medication, hormones, recent illness and other laboratory findings.

The science behind the signal

IgG antibodyGlycan, enlargedGlcNAcMannose
Glycans are complex sugar structures attached to proteins. On IgG, their composition helps influence antibody function. The test measures the relative abundance of glycan structures and uses selected patterns to estimate age.

A spectrum of glycan patterns

Anti-inflammatoryPro-inflammatorymore common earlier in lifemore common with age
Glycans with galactose and sialic acid are associated with anti-inflammatory IgG characteristics; glycans without galactose with pro-inflammatory ones. Illustrative.

Patterns change with age

Younger adultMiddle ageOlder adult
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Intermediate
  • Pro-inflammatory
Population studies show age-related shifts in IgG glycosylation. Profiles vary between people of the same age and can also be influenced by hormones and health status. The proportions are schematic: they are not diagnostic thresholds or a prediction of how an individual will age.

Beyond the genetic code

DNARNAProteinGlycoproteinTranscriptionTranslationGlycosylation
Glycosylation adds sugar structures to proteins, changing their functional properties. Glycan analysis therefore examines a different layer from DNA sequencing or DNA methylation testing.

One layer of a complex biology

Chronic inflammation«Inflammaging»: the layer IgG glycan patterns relate to
Epigenetic alterations
Telomere shortening
Cellular senescence
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Genomic instability
Deregulated nutrient sensing
Loss of proteostasis
Disabled autophagy
Altered intercellular communication
Dysbiosis
Stem cell exhaustion
Chronic inflammation sits within a wider framework of ageing mechanisms. This is that framework, not a list of biomarkers measured by this test. The test focuses on IgG glycans and does not directly measure telomere length, mitochondrial function, epigenetic age or the full set of ageing hallmarks.

What you get

Make your result useful

    • Bring your medication and supplement list, relevant health history and recent changes in sleep, training, nutrition, recovery or hormones
    • Use the call to identify practical next steps you can sustain
    • Agree what to track and when a repeat test would add useful information
    • A biological layer that complements symptoms, history and conventional tests
    • Anti- and pro-inflammatory glycan indexes to support the conversation
    • A baseline for follow-up, read against biological and analytical variation
    • Helps distinguish report suggestions from changes that require clinical review

How it works

From sample to interpretation

  1. 01Receive your kit and register it using the supplied instructions.
  2. 02Take a finger-prick sample and return it in the supplied prepaid envelope.
  3. 03Receive your report and book the included interpretation call. Additional specialist sessions can support follow-up.

Laboratory workflow

  1. 1
    IgG isolationIgG antibodies are isolated from the blood sample.
  2. 2
    Glycan releaseThe glycans attached to IgG are released.
  3. 3
    Fluorescent labellingReleased glycans are labelled with a fluorescent dye, so they can be detected.
  4. 4
    Measuring glycansThe labelled glycans are separated and the quantity of each type is measured.
  5. 5
    Calculating your resultThe glycan profile is compared with a large reference database to estimate biological age.
The laboratory process in five steps.

Age- and sex-associated glycan patterns

  • Sialylated
  • Partly sialylated
  • Digalactosylated
  • Monogalactosylated
  • 20406080Agalactosylated
  • Men
  • Women
  • Age, years
Schematic curves, redrawn: blue for men, gold for women. They are illustrative and do not show clinical decision limits. Differences can reflect biological and analytical variation as well as lifestyle changes.

Method and evidence

Evidence and practical limits

  • A population study of 5,117 people found age-associated IgG glycan patterns and associations with physiological measures. This supports biomarker research, rather than an individual diagnosis or a guarantee of future health. [1]
  • An intervention study in 36 women showed that suppression of gonadal hormones and estradiol treatment affected the glycan age index. Results are specific to the study and do not establish lifespan extension, an anti-ageing treatment or a reason to change medication based on a test score. [2]
  • The laboratory reports triplicate analysis and CLIA certification. Certification applies to laboratory operations; it does not by itself validate every age, disease-risk or lifestyle claim.
  • A reported precision of ±1 year should not be read as proof that your true whole-body biological age is known to that precision. Repeatability, model prediction error and clinical significance are different measures.
  1. Krištić J et al. Glycans are a novel biomarker of chronological and biological ages. J Gerontol A. 2014;69:779–789. doi:10.1093/gerona/glt190
  2. Jurić J et al. Effects of estradiol on biological age measured using the glycan age index. Aging. 2020;12:19756–19765. doi:10.18632/aging.104060

Scientific references

Published research on IgG glycosylation

Studies, reviews and method papers on IgG and plasma-protein glycosylation, grouped by topic. Some appear under more than one topic.

Ageing20
  1. Chernykh et al. RCL glycosylation of serum corticosteroid-binding globulin: implications in cortisol delivery and septic shock. Glycobiology. 2025.
  2. Lauc Can we suppress chronic systemic inflammation and postpone age-related diseases by targeting the IgG glycome? Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 2024.
  3. Flevaris et al. Machine learning framework to extract the biomarker potential of plasma IgG N-glycans towards disease risk stratification. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. 2024.
  4. Pongracz et al. The Human Blood N-Glycome: Unraveling Disease Glycosylation Patterns. JACS Au. 2024.
  5. Shkunnikova et al. IgG glycans in health and disease: Prediction, intervention, prognosis, and therapy. Biotechnology Advances. 2023.
  6. Halama et al. The Molecular Human – A Roadmap of Molecular Interactions Linking Multiomics Networks with Disease Endpoints. medRxiv. 2022.
  7. Krištić et al. Systems glycobiology: immunoglobulin G glycans as biomarkers and functional effectors in aging and diseases. Clinica Chimica Acta. 2022.
  8. Macdonald-Dunlop et al. A catalogue of omics biological ageing clocks reveals substantial commonality and associations with disease risk. Aging (Albany NY). 2022.
  9. Meng et al. Glycomic biomarkers are instrumental for suboptimal health status management in the context of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine. EPMA Journal. 2022.
  10. Paton et al. Glycosylation Biomarkers Associated with Age-Related Diseases and Current Methods for Glycan Analysis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021.
  11. Liu and Liu Chapter One - IgG N-glycans. Advances in Clinical Chemistry. 2021.
  12. Cindrić et al. Glycosylation and ageing. The Role of Glycosylation in Health and Disease. 2021.
  13. Štambuk et al. N-glycans as functional effectors of genetic and epigenetic disease risk. Molecular Aspects of Medicine. 2021.
  14. Wang et al. Next-Generation (Glycomic) Biomarkers for Cardiometabolic Health: A Community-Based Study of Immunoglobulin G N-Glycans in a Chinese Han Population. OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. 2019.
  15. Reily et al. Glycosylation in health and disease. Nature Reviews Nephrology. 2019.
  16. Gudelj et al. Immunoglobulin G glycosylation in aging and diseases. Cellular Immunology. 2018.
  17. Seeling et al. Differential antibody glycosylation in autoimmunity: sweet biomarker or modulator of disease activity? Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 2017.
  18. Xue et al. IgG-Fc N-glycosylation at Asn297 and IgA O-glycosylation in the hinge region in health and disease. Glycoconjugate Journal. 2013.
  19. Chen et al. Human IgG Fc-glycosylation profiling reveals associations with age, sex, female sex hormones and thyroid cancer. Journal of Proteomics. 2012.
  20. Mariño et al. Changes in serum N-glycosylation profiles: functional significance and potential for diagnostics. Carbohydrate Chemistry. 2011.
Diseases83
  1. Šoić et al. Human complement component C3 N-glycome changes in type 1 diabetes complications. Frontiers in Endocrinology. 2023.
  2. Sénard et al. Baseline IgG-Fc N-glycosylation profile is associated with long-term outcome in a cohort of early inflammatory arthritis patients. Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2022.
  3. Xu et al. The role of IgG N-galactosylation in spondyloarthritis. Translational Metabolic Syndrome Research. 2022.
  4. Kissel et al. IgG Anti-Citrullinated Protein Antibody Variable Domain Glycosylation Increases Before the Onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Stabilizes Thereafter: A Cross-Sectional Study Encompassing ~1,500 Samples. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 2022.
  5. Rudman et al. Children at onset of type 1 diabetes show altered N-glycosylation of plasma proteins and IgG. Diabetologia. 2022.
  6. Gyebrovszki et al. The Role of IgG Fc Region N-Glycosylation in the Pathomechanism of Rheumatoid Arthritis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022.
  7. Font et al. IgG N-glycosylation from Patients with Pemphigus Treated with Rituximab. Biomedicines. 2022.
  8. Liu et al. Characteristics of purified anti-β2GPI IgG N-glycosylation associate with thrombotic, obstetric and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome. Rheumatology. 2022.
  9. Ząbczyńska et al. Glycosylation in Autoimmune Diseases. The Role of Glycosylation in Health and Disease. 2021.
  10. Petit et al. Longitudinal Pathogenic Properties and N-Glycosylation Profile of Antibodies from Patients with Pemphigus after Corticosteroid Treatment. Biomedicines. 2021.
  11. Mandel-Brehm et al. Elevated N-Linked Glycosylation of IgG V Regions in Myasthenia Gravis Disease Subtypes. Journal of Immunology. 2021.
  12. Werner et al. Targeting B cells in the pre-phase of systemic autoimmunity globally interferes with autoimmune pathology. iScience. 2021.
  13. Clauder et al. IgG Fc N-Glycosylation Translates MHCII Haplotype into Autoimmune Skin Disease. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2021.
  14. Li et al. Sialylated immunoglobulin G: a promising diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for autoimmune diseases. Theranostics. 2021.
  15. Zaytseva et al. Investigation of the causal relationships between human IgG N-glycosylation and 12 common diseases associated with changes in the IgG N-glycome. Human Molecular Genetics. 2021.
  16. Zeng et al. Changes of Serum IgG Glycosylation Patterns in Primary Biliary Cholangitis Patients. Frontiers in Immunology. 2021.
  17. van Delft and Huizinga An overview of autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Autoimmunity. 2020.
  18. Du et al. Phytoestrogens protect joints in collagen induced arthritis by increasing IgG glycosylation and reducing osteoclast activation. International Immunopharmacology. 2020.
  19. Schmidt et al. IgG-Fc glycosylation before and after rituximab treatment in immune thrombocytopenia. Scientific Reports. 2020.
  20. Su et al. Aberrant Immunoglobulin G Glycosylation in Rheumatoid Arthritis by LTQ-ESI-MS. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020.
  21. Kissel et al. On the presence of HLA-SE alleles and ACPA-IgG variable domain glycosylation in the phase preceding the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2019.
  22. Sun et al. Distribution of abnormal IgG glycosylation patterns from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients by MALDI-TOF-MSn. Analyst. 2019.
  23. Hafkenscheid et al. N-Linked Glycans in the Variable Domain of IgG Anti–Citrullinated Protein Antibodies Predict the Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Arthritis and Rheumatology. 2019.
  24. Gudelj et al. Low galactosylation of IgG associates with higher risk for future diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis during 10 years of follow-up. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease. 2018.
  25. Bermingham et al. N-Glycan Profile and Kidney Disease in Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2018.
  26. Reiding et al. Serum Protein N-Glycosylation Changes with Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity during and after Pregnancy. Frontiers in Medicine. 2018.
  27. Magorivska et al. Glycosylation of random IgG distinguishes seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmunity. 2018.
  28. Fernandes-Cerqueira et al. Patients with anti-Jo1 antibodies display a characteristic IgG Fc-glycan profile which is further enhanced in anti-Jo1 autoantibodies. Scientific Reports. 2018.
  29. Scherer et al. The B cell response to citrullinated antigens in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 2018.
  30. Chen et al. High-throughput characterization of the functional impact of IgG Fc glycan aberrancy in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Glycobiology. 2017.
  31. Seeling et al. Differential antibody glycosylation in autoimmunity: sweet biomarker or modulator of disease activity? Nature Reviews Rheumatology. 2017.
  32. Huang et al. Characterization of IgG glycosylation in rheumatoid arthritis patients by MALDI-TOF-MSn and capillary electrophoresis. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 2017.
  33. Kemna et al. Galactosylation and sialylation levels of IgG predict relapse in patients with PR3-ANCA associated vasculitis. EBioMedicine. 2017.
  34. Wong et al. Sialylated IgG-Fc: a novel biomarker of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 2016.
  35. Gińdzieńska-Sieśkiewicz et al. Changes of glycosylation of IgG in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate. Advances in Medical Sciences. 2016.
  36. Yarwood et al. Loci associated with N-glycosylation of human IgG are not associated with rheumatoid arthritis: a Mendelian randomisation study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2016.
  37. Sebastian et al. Glycan Biomarkers for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Its Remission Status in Han Chinese Patients. OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology. 2016.
  38. Rombouts et al. Extensive glycosylation of ACPA-IgG variable domains modulates binding to citrullinated antigens in rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2016.
  39. Rombouts et al. Anti-citrullinated protein antibodies acquire a pro-inflammatory Fc glycosylation phenotype prior to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2015.
  40. Chen et al. Measuring decreased serum IgG sialylation: a novel clinical biomarker of lupus. Lupus. 2015.
  41. Sjöwall et al. Altered glycosylation of complexed native IgG molecules is associated with disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2015.
  42. Wuhrer et al. Skewed Fc glycosylation profiles of anti-proteinase 3 immunoglobulin G1 autoantibodies from granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients show low levels of bisection, galactosylation, and sialylation. Journal of Proteome Research. 2015.
  43. Fickentscher et al. The pathogenicity of Anti-beta2GP1-IgG autoantibodies depends on Fc glycosylation. Journal of Immunology Research. 2015.
  44. Vučković et al. Association of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus With Decreased Immunosuppressive Potential of the IgG Glycome. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2015.
  45. Albrecht et al. Glycosylation as a marker for inflammatory arthritis. Cancer Biomarkers. 2014.
  46. Bondt et al. Association between Galactosylation of Immunoglobulin G and Improvement of Rheumatoid Arthritis during Pregnancy Is Independent of Sialylation. Journal of Proteome Research. 2013.
  47. Ercan et al. Multiple juvenile idiopathic arthritis subtypes demonstrate proinflammatory IgG glycosylation. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2012.
  48. Espy et al. Sialylation levels of anti-proteinase 3 antibodies are associated with the activity of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's). Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2011.
  49. Perdivara et al. Mass Spectrometric Determination of IgG Subclass-Specific Glycosylation Profiles in Siblings Discordant for Myositis Syndromes. Journal of Proteome Research. 2011.
  50. Selman et al. IgG Fc N-Glycosylation Changes in Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome and Myasthenia Gravis. Journal of Proteome Research. 2010.
  51. Scherer et al. Glycan profiling of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies isolated from human serum and synovial fluid. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2010.
  52. Ercan et al. Aberrant IgG galactosylation precedes disease onset, correlates with disease activity, and is prevalent in autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2010.
  53. van de Geijn et al. Immunoglobulin G galactosylation and sialylation are associated with pregnancy-induced improvement of rheumatoid arthritis and the postpartum flare: results from a large prospective cohort study. Arthritis Research & Therapy. 2009.
  54. Gindzienska-Sieskiewicz et al. The changes in monosaccharide composition of immunoglobulin G in the course of rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical Rheumatology. 2007.
  55. Nandakumar et al. Endoglycosidase treatment abrogates IgG arthritogenicity: importance of IgG glycosylation in arthritis. European Journal of Immunology. 2007.
  56. Croce et al. Effect of infliximab on the glycosylation of IgG of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis. 2007.
  57. Holland et al. Differential glycosylation of polyclonal IgG, IgG-Fc and IgG-Fab isolated from the sera of patients with ANCA-associated systemic vasculitis. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta. 2006.
  58. Pasek et al. Galactosylation of IgG from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients – changes during therapy. Glycoconjugate Journal. 2006.
  59. Axford et al. Rheumatic disease differentiation using immunoglobulin G sugar printing by high density electrophoresis. The Journal of Rheumatology. 2003.
  60. Cremata et al. Hypogalactosylation of serum IgG in patients with coeliac disease. Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 2003.
  61. Holland et al. Hypogalactosylation of serum IgG in patients with ANCA-associated systemic vasculitis. Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 2002.
  62. Watson et al. Sugar printing rheumatic diseases: a potential method for disease differentiation using immunoglobulin G oligosaccharides. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1999.
  63. Martin et al. Characterization of changes in IgG associated oligosaccharide profiles in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis using fluorophore linked carbohydrate electrophoresis. The Journal of Rheumatology. 2001.
  64. Matsumoto et al. Autoantibody activity of IgG rheumatoid factor increases with decreasing levels of galactosylation and sialylation. The Journal of Biochemistry. 2000.
  65. Leirisalo-Repo et al. Agalactosyl IgG is elevated in patients with active spondyloarthropathy. Rheumatology International. 1999.
  66. Flögel et al. Fucosylation and galactosylation of IgG heavy chains differ between acute and remission phases of juvenile chronic arthritis. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. 1998.
  67. Bond et al. A detailed lectin analysis of IgG glycosylation, demonstrating disease specific changes in terminal galactose and N-acetylglucosamine. Journal of Autoimmunity. 1997.
  68. Bodman-Smith et al. Agalactosyl IgG [Gal(o)]–an analysis of its clinical utility in the long-term follow-up of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The British Journal of Rheumatology. 1996.
  69. Pilkington et al. Agalactosyl IgG and materno-fetal transmission of autoimmune neonatal lupus. Rheumatology International. 1996.
  70. Bond et al. The relationship between exposed galactose and N-acetylglucosamine residues on IgG in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA) and Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 1996.
  71. Malhotra et al. Glycosylation changes of IgG associated with rheumatoid arthritis can activate complement via the mannose-binding protein. Nature Medicine. 1995.
  72. Pilkington et al. Agalactosyl IgG and Antibody Specificity in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tuberculosis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Myasthenia Gravis. Autoimmunity. 1995.
  73. van Zeben et al. Early agalactosylation of IgG is associated with a more progressive disease course in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of a follow-up study. Rheumatology. 1994.
  74. Hernández-Pando et al. Raised agalactosyl IgG and antimycobacterial humoral immunity in Takayasu's arteritis. The Journal of Rheumatology. 1994.
  75. Thompson et al. Agalactosyl IgG in pristane-induced arthritis. Pregnancy affects the incidence and severity of arthritis and the glycosylation status of IgG. Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 1992.
  76. Axford et al. Changes in normal glycosylation mechanisms in autoimmune rheumatic disease. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 1992.
  77. Tomana et al. Abnormal galactosylation of serum IgG in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and members of families with high frequency of autoimmune diseases. Rheumatology International. 1992.
  78. Rook et al. Changes in IgG glycoform levels are associated with remission of arthritis during pregnancy. Journal of Autoimmunity. 1991.
  79. Young et al. Agalactosyl IgG: an aid to differential diagnosis in early synovitis. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1991.
  80. Sumar et al. Reduction in IgG galactose in juvenile and adult onset rheumatoid arthritis measured by a lectin binding method and its relation to rheumatoid factor. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 1991.
  81. Parekh et al. Galactosylation of IgG associated oligosaccharides: Reduction in patients with adult and juvenile onset Rheumatoid Arthritis and relation to disease activity. Lancet. 1988.
  82. Pekelharing et al. Alterations in carbohydrate composition of serum IgG from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and from pregnant women. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 1988.
  83. Parekh et al. Association of rheumatoid arthritis and primary osteoarthritis with changes in the glycosylation pattern of total serum IgG. Nature. 1985.
Female health4
Inflammation9
Interventions40

Bariatric surgery

  1. Štambuk et al. Alterations in plasma protein N-glycosylation after caloric restriction and bariatric surgery. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases. 2024.
  2. Greto et al. Extensive weight loss reduces glycan age by altering IgG N-glycosylation. International Journal of Obesity. 2021.

Medical therapies

  1. Rapčan et al. Anastrozole and Tamoxifen Impact on IgG Glycome Composition Dynamics in Luminal A and Luminal B Breast Cancers. Antibodies. 2024.
  2. Vinicki et al. Effects of testosterone and metformin on the GlycanAge index of biological age and the composition of the IgG glycome. GeroScience. 2024.
  3. Hanić et al. Anti-TNF Biologicals Enhance the Anti-Inflammatory Properties of IgG N-Glycome in Crohn's Disease. Biomolecules. 2023.
  4. Visconti et al. Total serum N-glycans associate with response to immune checkpoint inhibition therapy and survival in patients with advanced melanoma. BMC Cancer. 2023.
  5. Trzos et al. Changes of IgG N-Glycosylation in Thyroid Autoimmunity: The Modulatory Effect of Methimazole in Graves' Disease and the Association With the Severity of Inflammation in Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Frontiers in Immunology. 2022.
  6. Štambuk et al. Distinct Longitudinal Changes in Immunoglobulin G N-Glycosylation Associate with Therapy Response in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2022.
  7. Font et al. IgG N-glycosylation from Patients with Pemphigus Treated with Rituximab. Biomedicines. 2022.
  8. Petit et al. Longitudinal Pathogenic Properties and N-Glycosylation Profile of Antibodies from Patients with Pemphigus after Corticosteroid Treatment. Biomedicines. 2021.
  9. Mijakovac et al. Effects of Estradiol on Immunoglobulin G Glycosylation: Mapping of the Downstream Signaling Mechanism. Frontiers in Immunology. 2021.
  10. Jurić et al. Effects of estradiol on biological age measured using the glycan age index. Aging (Albany NY). 2020.
  11. Schmidt et al. IgG-Fc glycosylation before and after rituximab treatment in immune thrombocytopenia. Scientific Reports. 2020.
  12. Qin et al. Prediction of neoadjuvant chemotherapeutic efficacy in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer by serum IgG glycomics profiling. Clinical Proteomics. 2020.
  13. Vadrevu et al. Frontline Science: Plasma and immunoglobulin G galactosylation associate with HIV persistence during antiretroviral therapy. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2018.
  14. Park et al. Blood plasma/IgG N-glycome biosignatures associated with major depressive disorder symptom severity and the antidepressant response. Scientific Reports. 2018.
  15. de Haan et al. Immunoglobulin G fragment crystallizable glycosylation after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is dissimilar to donor profiles. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018.
  16. Keser et al. Effects of statins on the immunoglobulin G glycome. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects. 2017.
  17. Brückner et al. Sweet SIGNs: IgG glycosylation leads the way in IVIG-mediated resolution of inflammation. International Immunology. 2017.
  18. Gińdzieńska-Sieśkiewicz et al. Changes of glycosylation of IgG in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with methotrexate. Advances in Medical Sciences. 2016.
  19. Fokkink et al. IgG Fc N-Glycosylation in Guillain–Barré Syndrome Treated with Immunoglobulins. Journal of Proteome Research. 2014.
  20. Saldova et al. Association of Medication with the Human Plasma N-Glycome. Journal of Proteome Research. 2012.
  21. Selman et al. Changes in Antigen-specific IgG1 Fc N-glycosylation Upon Influenza and Tetanus Vaccination. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 2011.
  22. Croce et al. Effect of infliximab on the glycosylation of IgG of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis. 2007.
  23. Pasek et al. Galactosylation of IgG from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients – changes during therapy. Glycoconjugate Journal. 2006.
Methodology8

Clinical value

Retesting and interpretation

One result establishes a baseline. Follow-up results show whether your measured profile has changed.

  1. 01Agree retest timing with your specialist and allow enough time for the planned change. Keep a record of sleep, exercise, nutrition, illness, medication and hormone changes.
  2. 02Differences can reflect biological and analytical variation as well as lifestyle changes. A lower age estimate alone is not proof that ageing has been reversed or disease risk reduced.
  3. 03Persistent fatigue, pain or other symptoms need clinical assessment. An age estimate within a favourable range does not exclude disease.

Measure → Intervene → Re-measure → Verify

White-label opportunity

Your programme. Your brand. Our infrastructure.

Immune Ageing & Glycan Biology can be integrated into healthcare, longevity and preventive-health programmes as a branded or co-branded testing pathway, without building the laboratory infrastructure behind it.

  • Branded test kits and packaging
  • Integration into existing clinic or longevity programmes
  • Remote sample collection
  • Laboratory analysis
  • A patient-facing experience in your name
  • Results delivered into your preferred reporting environment
  • Repeat testing and longitudinal programmes
  • Sample collection at home, outside the clinic.
  • A glycan-based view of inflammation-related ageing, from a finger-prick.
  • Repeat testing to follow change over time.

Limitations

An additional perspective

IgG glycan profiling provides information about inflammation-related biology. It does not measure every inflammatory pathway, identify the cause of inflammation or replace markers such as CRP when clinically indicated. Repeat testing can track whether your glycan profile changes; it cannot establish which habit caused a change or whether health outcomes have improved.

This test complements a clinical assessment. It does not diagnose chronic inflammatory disease, predict a specific illness, or demonstrate that a lifestyle intervention prevents disease. Availability and regulatory status vary by market.

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