Proteins carbohydrate-bound, biological significance

THE LIPID PATHWAY OF PROTEIN GLYCOSYLATION AND ITS INHIBITORS THE BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PROTEIN-BOUND CARBOHYDRATES... 

An article by Li and Li (Tnlane University, LA) on the biosynthesis and catabolism of glycosphingolipids serves to extend that by Kiss (Vol. 24), which dealt mainly with the chemistry of these compounds. Schwarz and Datema (Giessen) provide a detailed account of the lipid pathway of protein glyeosylation and of its inhibitors, and then discuss the biological significance of protein-bound carbohydrates, thereby... 

Schwarz RT, Datema R. The lipid pathway of protein glycosylation and its inhibitors the biological significance of protein-bound carbohydrates. Adv Carbohydr Chem Biochem 1982 40 287-379. 

Abstract To understand how membrane-active peptides (MAPs) function in vivo, it is essential to obtain structural information about them in their membrane-bound state. Most biophysical approaches rely on the use of bilayers prepared from synthetic phospholipids, i.e. artificial model membranes. A particularly successful structural method is solid-state NMR, which makes use of macroscopically oriented lipid bilayers to study selectively isotope-labelled peptides. Native biomembranes, however, have a far more complex lipid composition and a significant non-lipidic content (protein and carbohydrate). Model membranes, therefore, are not really adequate to address questions concerning for example the selectivity of these membranolytic peptides against prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells, their varying activities against different bacterial strains, or other related biological issues. 

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