Polysaccharides GAGs

Because the only general review13 on these compounds in this Series dates back to 1946, it seems pertinent to recall the main structural features of these polysaccharides. (For extensive discussions on the structure and the physicochemical and biological properties of GAG, see Refs. 8,10, and 13-18.)... 

From the biological viewpoint, glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) are one of the most relevant oligo- and polysaccharides. The access to new NMR hardware and software, as well as the employment of new synthetic and molecular biology protocols have permitted important advances in the comprehension of their structural and conformational properties, as well as deeply study different examples of their interaction with receptors. 

As a result of heparin s multiplicity of biological activities and its importance as a major pharmaceutical, other polysaccharides and modified polysaccharides have been examined as potential heparin analogues in drug development (1). These heparin analogues include other GAGs, other non-GAGs, sulfated polysaccharides from plant and animal origins such as lam-... 

The principle and theory of the ACE method is discussed in detail in Part I of this book and were recently reviewed elsewhere (68-70). The remainder of this section is focused on the recent applications of ACE for studying GAG-protein and polysaccharide-protein interactions. 

Marine sulfated polysaccharides (MSPs), such as sulfated fucans (SFs), sulfated galactans (SGs), and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) isolated from invertebrate animals, are highly anionic polysaccharides capable of interacting with certain cationic proteins, such as... 

As regards the antiviral compounds derived from microorganisms, the polysaccharides nostoflan and naviculan proved to be active against influenza A virus [54,97]. Chemically synthesized oversulfated derivatives of extracellular GAG and SP, produced by a marine Pseudomonas, prepared by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-mediated reaction for both polysaccharides, showed antiviral activities against influenza virus type A but not against type B [52],... 

Glycosaminoglycans are solubilized from stromal or other tissues by extracting the source tissue with dilute acid or alkali. Hyaluronan is electrostatically bound to specific proteins called hyaladherins, which possess a structural domain of -100 amino acids termed a link module. Other glycosaminoglycans are O-linked to serine and threonine residues of polypeptides and these bonds hydrolyze before the rest of the polysaccharide. The protein moiety precipitates when trichloroacetic acid or ammonium sulfate is added to the cooled mixture. The composition of the GAGs (including hyaluronan) was identified by chromatographic separation of the purified polysaccharides, followed by their hydrolysis in boiling 1.0 M HC1 for 2 1 h and identification of the individual monosaccharide components. 

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