Centre for Glycobiology, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2010 Oct;38(5):1356-60. doi: 10.1042/BST0381356.
HSs (heparan sulfates) are a complex family of cell-surface and matrix polysaccharides that have diverse biological functions, underpinned by structurally diverse patterns of backbone chain modification, especially by sulfate groups. These variant structures represent a molecular code, the 'heparanome', that confers the ability to interact selectively with a wide interactome of proteins, the 'heparactome', and thereby influence a network of cellular events. It is becoming increasingly apparent that understanding the structure-activity relationships of these enigmatic molecules requires the development of a holistic systems biology view of their structure and interactions. In the present paper, I describe some of the new tools available to realize this strategy, and discuss the future potential for the combined application of glycomics and other '-omics' approaches to define the molecular code of the heparanome.
HSs（肝素硫酸盐）是细胞表面和基质多糖的复杂家族，具有多种生物学功能，其结构多样的骨架链修饰模式（尤其是硫酸盐基团）为其提供了基础。这些变体结构代表了一种分子密码，即“肝素组”，它使与广泛的蛋白质相互作用组“肝素相互作用组”选择性相互作用的能力，并由此影响细胞事件网络。越来越明显的是，要了解这些神秘分子的结构-活性关系，需要从整体系统生物学的角度来研究它们的结构和相互作用。在本文中，我描述了实现这一策略的一些新工具，并讨论了糖组学和其他“组学”方法联合应用来定义肝素组分子密码的未来潜力。
