Carbohydrates cell surface

Glycolipids are widely distributed in every tissue of the body, particularly in nervous tissue such as brain. They occur particularly in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane, where they contribute to cell surface carbohydrates. 

Such sugar-dendrimer complexes ( sugar balls ) have been used to inhibit the interactions of viruses with cell surfaces. Many viruses bind to particular carbohydrate residues on cell surfaces, which in turn facilitate their entry into cells and the resultant infection process. A virus particle presents a multi-dentate surface consisting of many carbohydrate-binding proteins able to interact with multiple cell-surface carbohydrates. The surface of a dendrimer that is modified with... 

Figure 24.4 Lectins coated on gold particles can be used to detect specific carbohydrate sequences in cell-surface glycoconjugates.

Borges, R.A., Puri, A., Krebs, F.C., Wigdahl, B., Blumenthal, R., Rawat, S.S., Johnson, B.T., and Schengrund, C.-L. (2005) Multivalent compounds functionalized with the carbohydrate headgroups of immune cell-surface GSLs as inhibitors of HIV-1 infection. 3rd IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment, Rio de Janeiro, July 24-27. 

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