title: Searching for alternatives to heparin: sulfated fucans from marine invertebrates.
abstract: We describe a variety of sulfated polysaccharides with regular and well-defined structures which are useful tools for elucidating structure/biological function relationship. Several of these compounds have anticoagulant and antithrombotic activities. The most studied and promising polysaccharide is a fucosylated chondroitin sulfate, composed of a chondroitin sulfate-like backbone, substituted at position 3 of the beta-D-glucuronic acid with heavily sulfated fucose side chains. The anticoagulant activity of this polysaccharide is mediated by both antithrombin and heparin cofactor II; it has antithrombotic activity when targeted at the intrinsic coagulation pathway.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Tecido Conjuntivo, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho and Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Mourão
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005643:Fucose / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006493:Heparin / Q000737:chemistry; D007448:Invertebrates; D008386:Marine Biology; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013463:Sulfuric Acid Esters; D005643:Fucose; D006493:Heparin; C007789:fucoidan