Carbohydrate “code

In most cases, the precise functions of polysaccharides are not known even their primary sequences are very hard to determine using current analytical techniques. Thus, a major challenge is to crack the carbohydrate code and determine the structures and functions of all the polysaccharides found on human cells. Terms such as glycomics have already been coined to describe such global efforts. 

Figure 23. Eschenmoser s homo-DNA [50c-g] playing the game of artificial evolution and simulating from nucleic acid viewpoints aspects of general carbohydrate codes [60, 61] (top) Olson-DNA and RNA arrangements [50 g] in comparison to comparable appearances of homo-DNA bottom) Olson-RNA -peptide interactions modeling early intimacies in the nucleation of the nucleoprotein system [7 a, 17, 18] and by this excluding more rigid hexose-DNA/ RNAs from evolutionary trends [50],...

Isoenzymes arise when there exist different genes coding for the different proteins. Isoforms arise when the enzyme protein undergoes post translational modification, for example amino acid residue excision or addition of a non protein moiety such as sialic acid (a carbohydrate-like molecule). 

Macromolecules of biological origin perform various functions in the body. For example, proteins which perform the role of biological catalysts in the body are called enzymes, those which are crucial to communication system in the body are called receptors. Carrier proteins carry polar molecules across the cell membrane. Nucleic acids have coded genetic information for the cell. Lipids and carbohydrates are structural parts of the cell membrane. We shall explain the drug-target interaction with the examples of enzymes and receptors. 

SUMMARY 7.4 Carbohydrates as Informational Molecules The Sugar Code... 

Coding of monosaccharides for the carbohydrate chains described in this Chapter N-8-7... 

Fig. 51. — Space-filling, Molecular Model of the Oligomannoside Type of Carbohydrate Chain that Contains 9 Mannose Residues. [Numbers and letters correspond to the coding used in Figs. 50,53, and 54 (see also, footnote on page 221). The relatively close, spatial proximity of the A-Ds branch and the /V,A -diace tylchitobio.se core-region (2-1) is clearly illustrated.]...

---