Updated project metadata.
Here we present an approach to identify N-linked glycoproteins and deduce their spatial localization using a combination of MALDI N-glycan MSI and spatially-resolved glycoproteomics. We subjected glioma biopsies to on-tissue PNGaseF digestion and MALDI-MSI and found that the glycan HexNAc4-Hex5-NeuAc2 was predominantly expressed in necrotic regions of high-grade canine gliomas. To determine the underlying sialo-glycoprotein, various regions in adjacent tissue sections were subjected to microdigestion and manual glycoproteomic analysis. Results identified haptoglobin as the protein associated with HexNAc4-Hex5-NeuAc2, making our study the first report that directly links glycan imaging with intact glycopeptide identification. In total, our spatially-resolved glycoproteomics technique identified over 400 N-, O-, and S- glycopeptides from over 30 proteins, demonstrating the diverse array of glycosylation present on the tissue slides and the sensitivity of our technique. Ultimately, this proof-of-principle work demonstrates that spatially-resolved glycoproteomics greatly complement MALDI-MSI in understanding dysregulated glycosylation.