title: Role of glycosaminoglycans in cellular communication.
abstract: Glycosaminoglycans are of critical importance in intercellular communication in organisms. This ubiquitous class of linear polyanions interacts with a wide variety of proteins, including growth factors and chemokines, which regulate important physiological processes. The presence of glycosaminoglycans on cell membranes and in the extracellular matrix also has resulted in their exploitation by infectious pathogens to gain access and entry into animal cells. This Account examines the structural and physical characteristics of these molecules responsible for their interaction with proteins important in cell-cell communication.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Biology, and Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12210, and Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Japan.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Linhardt
authors.forename: Toshihiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication; D018925:Chemokines / Q000502:physiology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010271:Parasites / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction; D018406:Virus Physiological Phenomena
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans