Authors: Jian Liu Lars C Pedersen
Publish Date: 2006/11/28
Volume: 74, Issue: 2, Pages: 263-272
Abstract
Heparan sulfate HS is present on the surface of endothelial and surrounding tissues in large quantities It plays important roles in regulating numerous functions of the blood vessel wall including blood coagulation inflammation response and cell differentiation HS is a highly sulfated polysaccharide containing glucosamine and glucuronic/iduronic acid repeating disaccharide units The unique sulfated saccharide sequences of HS determine its specific functions Heparin an analog of HS is the most commonly used anticoagulant drug Because of its wide range of biological functions HS has become an interesting molecule to biochemists medicinal chemists and developmental biologists In this review we summarize recent progress toward understanding the interaction between HS and bloodcoagulating factors the biosynthesis of anticoagulant HS and the mechanism of action of HS biosynthetic enzymes Furthermore knowledge of the biosynthesis of HS facilitates the development of novel enzymatic approaches to synthesize HS from bacterial capsular polysaccharides and to produce polysaccharide end products with high specificity for the biological target These advancements provide the foundation for the development of polysaccharidebased therapeutic agentsThe authors are grateful to AF Moon and Dr LG Pedersen for critical reading of the manuscript The Liu lab is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health AI050050 This research was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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