title: Heparan sulfate glycomics: towards systems biology strategies.
abstract: HSs (heparan sulfates) are a complex family of cell-surface and matrix polysaccharides that have diverse biological functions, underpinned by structurally diverse patterns of backbone chain modification, especially by sulfate groups. These variant structures represent a molecular code, the 'heparanome', that confers the ability to interact selectively with a wide interactome of proteins, the 'heparactome', and thereby influence a network of cellular events. It is becoming increasingly apparent that understanding the structure-activity relationships of these enigmatic molecules requires the development of a holistic systems biology view of their structure and interactions. In the present paper, I describe some of the new tools available to realize this strategy, and discuss the future potential for the combined application of glycomics and other '-omics' approaches to define the molecular code of the heparanome.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Glycobiology, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK. j.turnbull@liverpool.ac.uk
authors.forename: Jeremy E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Turnbull
mesh_terms: D054794:Glycomics; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006497:Heparan Sulfate