Carbohydrates biological system recognition

Volume 362. Recognition of Carbohydrates in Biological Systems (Part A) Edited by Yuan C. Lee and Reiko T. Lee... 

We have mentioned earlier that sugars can serve as signal molecules in a biological system and can interact with water (chapter IV). We describe here the possible role carbohydrates in general can play in recognition process and can respond to a homeopathic potency. Carbohydrates with bound water molecules play an important role in recognition process. Potentized homeopathic drugs, which are essentially structured water molecules, initiate specific biochemical events in cells when they come in contact with carbohydrate molecules. 

Abstract Carbohydrates have been investigated and developed as delivery vehicles for shuttling nucleic acids into cells. In this review, we present the state of the art in carbohydrate-based polymeric vehicles for nucleic acid delivery, with the focus on the recent successes in preclinical models, both in vitro and in vivo. Polymeric scaffolds based on the natural polysaccharides chitosan, hyaluronan, pullulan, dextran, and schizophyllan each have unique properties and potential for modification, and these results are discussed with the focus on facile synthetic routes and favorable performance in biological systems. Many of these carbohydrates have been used to develop alternative types of biomaterials for nucleic acid delivery to typical polyplexes, and these novel materials are discussed. Also presented are polymeric vehicles that incorporate copolymerized carbohydrates into polymer backbones based on polyethylenimine and polylysine and their effect on transfection and biocompatibility. Unique scaffolds, such as clusters and polymers based on cyclodextrin (CD), are also discussed, with the focus on recent successes in vivo and in the clinic. These results are presented with the emphasis on the role of carbohydrate and charge on transfection. Use of carbohydrates as molecular recognition ligands for cell-type specific dehvery is also briefly... 

M. Wendeler, H. Reiiaender, J. Hoernschemeyer, G. Schwarzmann, T. Kolter, K. Sandhoff, Recombinant Ganglioside GM2-Synthase - Expression in Insect Cells and Enzyme Assay, Y. C. Lee, R. T. Lee, eds., Methods in Enzymology Recognition of Carbohydrates in Biological Systems, submitted for publication. 

The variability of primary structure and conformation makes the carbohydrate molecule extremely versatile, for example, for specific recognition signals on the cell surface. In any biological system whatsoever the shape and size adopted by carbohydrates in different solvent environments have been widely demonstrated to be responsible for the biological function of these molecules. 

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