Methods for Evaluating Articular Cartilage Quality
Kyriacos A. Athanasiou, Eric M. Darling, Grayson D. DuRaine, Jerry C. Hu, A. Hari Reddi in Articular Cartilage, 2017
Glycosaminoglycan quantification through ELISA and visualization through immunohistochemistry are based on the same principles as ELISAs and immunohistochemistry for other cartilage components, and these widely employed methods for articular cartilage are described in Chapter 7. A useful technique that should warrant more attention in assessing articular cartilage is fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) (Ofek et al. 2008). Glycosaminoglycans contain polysaccharide portions that can be cleaved by enzymes specific to certain glycosaminoglycan species, leading to products of lower molecular weights. Based on stoichiometry, quantities of specific glycosaminoglycans can then be determined after gel electrophoresis that separates the digested products. With increasing attention to the mechanical and structural roles that carbohydrates play in cartilage and other mechanical tissues, FACE analysis can be a useful technique for future understanding of cartilage structure-function relationships.
Polysaccharide-Based Polymers in Cosmetics
E. Desmond Goddard, James V. Gruber in Principles of Polymer Science and Technology in Cosmetics and Personal Care, 1999
Chitin (Section III.A.2.b) and chitosan (Section III.B.1.a) are not naturally found in human skin. Their presence on the skin during wound healing, however, speeds healing and minimizes scarring (189). Both chitin and chitosan are slowly digested by lipases, enzymes present in the body used to digest triacylglycerols. It is not surprising that chitin and chitosan are immunopotentiating considering their similarities with hyaluronic acid through the common N-acetylglucosamine sugar. This sugar is common in the body’s chemistry, especially in the many glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans in body cells and fluids. 3. Beta -Glucan
Introduction and Review of Biological Background
Luke R. Bucci in Nutrition Applied to Injury Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, 2020
Several texts review the chemistry and biology of glycosaminoglycans. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), formerly known as mucopolysaccharides, are the predominant feature of PGs. GAGs are long-chain polymers of repeating disaccharide units. Except for hyaluronan (HA), GAGs are sulfated, and so possess a very high negative charge density. These charges serve to repel neighboring GAG chains, when bound to PG subunits, causing a space-filling function. The attraction of water to GAGs gives compressive and load-bearing effects to PGs and cartilage. There are six major types of distinct GAGs, identifiable by the difference in sugar residues in the repeating disaccharide subunit. Table 1 lists the major GAGs and their sugar components. It can be seen that each repeating GAG subunit is comprised of an aminosugar (glucosamine or galactosamine to which sulfates are attached) and a sugar or sugar acid. Each subunit is repeated from several dozen to several hundred times per GAG chain, depending upon the type and tissue location.
Hyaluronic acid in vulvar and vaginal administration: evidence from a literature systematic review
Published in Climacteric, 2021
G. Buzzaccarini, L. Marin, M. Noventa, A. Vitagliano, A. Riva, F. Dessole, G. Capobianco, L. Bordin, A. Andrisani, G. Ambrosini
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a fundamental component of the extracellular matrix, which has remained largely unchanged throughout animal evolution, with hydrating and lubricant properties. In particular, it is a glycosaminoglycan composed of repeating units of disaccharides, d-glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine molecules linked by β-(1–4) and β-(1–3). In esthetic medicine, HA is widely used thanks to its water-binding property, which can provide a lubricating and moisturizing effect on tissue [1]. Actually, cross-linked HA and non-cross-linked HA are some of the most requested and appreciated esthetic medicine procedures for facial rejuvenation. In particular, it is used both for biostimulation and facial remodeling, filling facial cavities that are crumbling due to reabsorbed bone, fat or subcutaneous matrix [2–4]. HA usage is now gaining widespread popularity in different clinical fields related to esthetic medicine, such as esthetic gynecology, and is taken into consideration for many different and innovative purposes.
The sialoglycan-Siglec glyco-immune checkpoint – a target for improving innate and adaptive anti-cancer immunity
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 2019
Anne Bärenwaldt, Heinz Läubli
Carbohydrates belong to the basic macromolecules of living organisms. While other macromolecules such as DNA and proteins are well characterized due to a broad general availability of analytical methods, carbohydrates and carbohydrate-conjugates (glycans) are much less studied. Glycans are chains of carbohydrates that are attached to proteins or lipids or they can be secreted into the extracellular matrix as long chains of glycosaminoglycans [1,2]. They are diverse structures that are discriminated by the composition, anomeric form, linkage, branching and substitution of their monosaccharides. Attachment of glycans to proteins occurs at the nitrogen of asparagine (N-glycans) or at the oxygen of serine or threonine (O-glycans). Glycans can be used to store energy, as structural basis (glycocalyx) and to store information (glycocode) [3]. Glycans can thereby significantly influence cell–cell interactions by engagement of carbohydrate-binding proteins or lectins. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of interactions mediated by sialic acid (Sia)-containing glycans (sialoglycans) with a receptor system binding to these sialoglycans, i.e. the Sia-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin (Siglec) family of receptors. We focus on the role of this interaction in anti-cancer immunity and ways how to exploit this interaction for cancer immunotherapy.
Glucosamine modulates membrane and cellular ionic homeostasis: studies on accelerated senescent and naturally aged rats
Published in Egyptian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2022
Komal Saraswat, Raushan Kumar, Syed Ibrahim Rizvi
Glucosamine (GlcN), 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose, is a naturally occurring amino sugar found in the human body. It is an important component of glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans, which is a major component of joint cartilage [10]. GlcN has a potent background as a glycolytic inhibitor [11,12]. Its entry into cells is stimulated by insulin and involves the glucose-transporter system [13]. GlcN in its phosphorylated form (GlcN-6-phosphate), acts as an inhibitor of hexokinase, the first enzyme of glycolysis. Researchers have introduced a novel biological and pharmacological application of GlcN as a caloric restriction mimetic (CRM) [14]. Recently, we have reported that GlcN supplementation results in an improvement in aging biomarkers in erythrocytes and plasma by inducing a transient mitohormetic increase in ROS [15].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Amino Sugar
- Disaccharide
- Galactose
- Metabolic Disorder
- Mucopolysaccharidosis
- Polysaccharide
- Sulfation
- Uronic Acid
- Keratan Sulfate
- Chemical Polarity