title: Cell surface carbohydrates in cell adhesion.
abstract: Carbohydrates are ubiquitous constituents of cell surfaces, and possess many characteristics that make them ideal candidates for recognition molecules. In many systems where cell adhesion plays a critical role, carbohydrate binding proteins have been shown to bind to cell surface carbohydrates and participate in cell-cell interactions. Such systems include fertilization, development, pathogen-host recognition and inflammation. In particular the recent discovery of the LEC-CAMs and their importance in leukocyte biology has refocused attention on lectin-mediated cell adhesion. The LEC-CAMs offer good targets for the development of therapeutics based on carbohydrate structures.
authors.affiliation: Glycomed, Inc., Alameda, CA 94501.
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Brandley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000502:physiology*; D005306:Fertilization; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014780:Viruses / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D037102:Lectins