title: Modifications of glycans: biological significance and therapeutic opportunities.
abstract: Carbohydrates play a central role in a wide range of biological processes. As with nucleic acids and proteins, modifications of specific sites within the glycan chain can modulate a carbohydrate's overall biological function. For example, acylation, methylation, sulfation, epimerization, and phosphorylation can occur at various positions within a carbohydrate to modulate bioactivity. Therefore, there is significant interest in identifying discrete carbohydrate modifications and understanding their biological effects. Additionally, enzymes that catalyze those modifications and proteins that bind modified glycans provide numerous targets for therapeutic intervention. This review will focus on modifications of glycans that occur after the oligomer/polymer has been assembled, generally referred to as post-glycosylational modifications.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, NCI-Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States.
authors.forename: Saddam M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Muthana
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Jeffrey C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gildersleeve
mesh_terms: D000215:Acylation; D000818:Animals; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D007536:Isomerism; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism*; D008745:Methylation; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism*; D014166:Transferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004187:Disaccharides; D009005:Monosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D054852:Small Molecule Libraries; D013431:Sulfates; D014166:Transferases