Glycobiology
The study of molecules that contain carbohydrates, their structure and function, and the roles they play in biology.
The extracellular matrix was long believed to merely be a static support with only limited influence on important decisions by the cell in growth and differentiation. In the 1970s, it was found that the extracellular matrix is dynamic, turning over at points of growth and morphogenesis. Merton Bernfield and colleagues discovered the first syndecans which connect across the plasma membrane to the actin cytoskeleton. The extracellular domains mediate many functions, including cell adhesion and the presentation of growth factors to signaling receptors. Syndecan plays an important role in obesity, cancer and bacterial pathogenesis.
There is a journal called Glycobiology which “provides a unique forum dedicated to research into the structure and function of glycoconjugates (including glycoproteins, glycolipids, proteoglycans or free complex saccharides) or on any aspect of proteins that specifically interact with glycoconjugate (e.g. lectins, glycotransferases, glycosidases).”
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- Glycogen storage disease
One of the multiple inherited disorders of metabolism that interfere with glycogen synthesis or breakdown, leading to the storage of carbohydrates as glycogen in the body. The conditions may affect the liver or the skeletal (striated) muscle, both primary glycogen storage sites. Symptoms and signs depend upon the exact type but can include enlargement of […]
- Glycohemoglobin
Also known as glycosylated hemoglobin, hemoglobin to which glucose is bound, a measure of the long-term control of diabetes mellitus. The level of glycohemoglobin is increased in the red blood cells of persons with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Since the glucose stays attached to hemoglobin for the life of the red blood cell (normally about […]
- Glycopeptide
A short chain of amino acids that has sugar molecules attached to it. A glycoprotein is similar in structure to a glycopeptide but has a longer chain of amino acids.
- Glycoprotein
A molecule that consists of a carbohydrate plus a protein. Glycoproteins play essential roles in the body. For instance, in the immune system almost all of the key molecules involved in the immune response are glycoproteins. A glycopeptide is similar in structure to a glycoprotein but has a shorter chain of amino acids.
- Glycosylated hemoglobin
Hemoglobin to which glucose is bound. Glycosylated hemoglobin is tested to monitor the long-term control of diabetes mellitus. The level of glycosylated hemoglobin is increased in the red blood cells of persons with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Since the glucose stays attached to hemoglobin for the life of the red blood cell (normally about 120 […]