title: Interactions between heparan sulfate and proteins: the concept of specificity.
abstract: Proteoglycan (PG) coreceptors carry heparan sulfate (HS) chains that mediate interactions with growth factors, morphogens, and receptors. Thus, PGs modulate fundamental processes such as cell survival, division, adhesion, migration, and differentiation. This review summarizes recent biochemical and genetic information that sheds new light on the nature of HS-protein binding. Unexpectedly, many interactions appear to depend more on the overall organization of HS domains than on their fine structure.
authors.affiliation: Rudbeck Laboratory, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreuger
authors.forename: Dorothe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spillmann
authors.forename: Jin-ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lindahl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D001704:Biopolymers; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D001704:Biopolymers; D006497:Heparan Sulfate; D011506:Proteins