Sugahara Kazuyuki, Mikami Tadahisa, Uyama Toru, Mizuguchi Souhei, Nomura Kazuya, Kitagawa Hiroshi
Department of Biochemistry, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Higashinada-ku, 658-8558, Kobe, Japan.
Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2003 Oct;13(5):612-20. doi: 10.1016/j.sbi.2003.09.011.
Recent glycobiology studies have suggested fundamental biological functions for chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate, which are widely distributed as glycosaminoglycan sidechains of proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix and at cell surfaces. They have been implicated in the signaling functions of various heparin-binding growth factors and chemokines, and play critical roles in the development of the central nervous system. They also function as receptors for various pathogens. These functions are closely associated with the sulfation patterns of the glycosaminoglycan chains. Surprisingly, nonsulfated chondroitin is indispensable in the morphogenesis and cell division of Caenorhabditis elegans, as revealed by RNA interference experiments of the recently cloned chondroitin synthase gene and by the analysis of mutants of squashed vulva genes.
近期的糖生物学研究表明，硫酸软骨素、硫酸皮肤素具有重要的生物学功能，它们作为蛋白聚糖的糖胺聚糖侧链广泛分布于细胞外基质和细胞表面。它们参与了多种肝素结合生长因子和趋化因子的信号传导功能，并在中枢神经系统发育中发挥关键作用。它们还作为各种病原体的受体发挥作用。这些功能与糖胺聚糖链的硫酸化模式密切相关。令人惊讶的是，通过对最近克隆的软骨素合酶基因进行RNA干扰实验以及对挤压外阴基因突变体的分析发现，非硫酸化的软骨素在秀丽隐杆线虫的形态发生和细胞分裂中是不可或缺的。
