Gabius Hans-Joachim, Roth Jürgen
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 80539, Munich, Germany.
Division of Cell and Molecular Pathology, University of Zurich, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland.
Histochem Cell Biol. 2017 Feb;147(2):111-117. doi: 10.1007/s00418-016-1521-9. Epub 2016 Dec 14.
Carbohydrates have physiological importance far beyond their roles as source of energy (glycolysis) and activated hydrogen for synthesis (pentosephosphate pathway) or as constituent of the backbone of nucleic acids and of cell wall polysaccharides. The extent of compositional and structural variability of their oligomers (glycans) is unsurpassed in Nature due to the unique property of independently combining the following parameters with sequence: anomeric status, linkage positions, ring size, addition of branches and site-specific introduction of substitutions. The monosaccharides (letters of the third alphabet of life) thus generate 'words' (signals) of high-density coding capacity. These 'words' are part of the glycans on proteins and lipids, and the glycome represented by these 'words' in their entirety has cell type-dependent features. The often limited intramolecular flexibility of oligosaccharides along with an abundance of contact points for intermolecular interactions is ideal for binding processes. Glycan-based 'words' can thus be 'read,' and their message translated into cellular effects by receptors called lectins. This journal's special issue covers central aspects of the concept of the sugar code.
碳水化合物的生理重要性远不止于其作为能量来源（糖酵解）、合成所需的活化氢来源（磷酸戊糖途径），或作为核酸主链及细胞壁多糖成分的作用。由于其具有独特性质，能够独立地将以下参数与序列相结合：异头物状态、连接位置、环大小、分支添加以及取代基的位点特异性引入，因此其寡聚物（聚糖）的组成和结构的可变程度在自然界中是无与伦比的。单糖（生命的第三种字母）由此生成具有高密度编码能力的“单词”（信号）。这些“单词”是蛋白质和脂质上聚糖的一部分，由这些“单词”整体代表的糖组具有细胞类型依赖性特征。寡糖分子内通常有限的灵活性以及大量的分子间相互作用接触点，使其非常适合结合过程。因此，基于聚糖的“单词”能够被名为凝集素的受体“读取”，并将其信息转化为细胞效应。本期刊的特刊涵盖了糖代码概念的核心方面。
