title: Sweet clearance: involvement of cell surface glycans in the recognition of apoptotic cells.
abstract: Glycans cover the surfaces of all mammalian cells. Their structural variety provides enormous potential for information storage and transfer. According to the concept of the sugar code, they act as biochemical signals decoded by a large number of lectins which are defined as sugar binding proteins. The importance of glycan-lectin interaction in diverse immune system functions becomes increasingly apparent. Here, we review apoptotic cell clearance and especially focus on modifications of glycans on apoptotic cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, Institute of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sarter
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mierke
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beer
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.forename: Barbara G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Führnrohr
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Franz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000276:immunology*; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000276:immunology*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins; D011134:Polysaccharides