title: The role of heparan sulphate in development: the ectodermal story.
abstract: Heparan sulphate (HS) is ubiquitously expressed and is formed of repeating glucosamine and glucuronic/iduronic acid units which are generally highly sulphated. HS is found in tissues bound to proteins forming HS proteoglycans (HSPGs) which are present on the cell membrane or in the extracellular matrix. HSPGs influence a variety of biological processes by interacting with physiologically important proteins, such as morphogens, creating storage pools, generating morphogen gradients and directly mediating signalling pathways, thereby playing vital roles during development. This review discusses the vital role HS plays in the development of tissues from the ectodermal lineage. The ectodermal layer differentiates to form the nervous system (including the spine, peripheral nerves and brain), eye, epidermis, skin appendages and tooth enamel.
authors.affiliation: John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Vivien Jane
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Coulson-Thomas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004475:Ectoderm / Q000166:cytology*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019812:Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000378:metabolism*; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D019812:Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans; D006497:Heparan Sulfate