Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Departments of Biology, Bioengineering, & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2303:469-476. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1398-6_37.
The glycocalyx is a biologically active barrier that covers the luminal side of the vascular endothelium and it is comprised of proteoglycans [core proteins with glycosaminoglycans (GAG) side chains], glycoproteins, and plasma proteins. Evidence shows that the disruption in the structure and function of the endothelial glycocalyx exacerbates vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis. The GAG components of the glycocalyx undergo remodeling in the setting of diabetes and these alterations in endothelial GAGs negatively impact the vascular function. Hence, the preservation and restoration of GAGs in altered vasculature may be a novel strategy to ameliorate vascular complications in diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Human studies support the beneficial vascular effects of flavonoids which are widely found in fruits and vegetables. Flavonoids are extensively metabolized by the intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes in humans, suggesting that their biological activities may be mediated by their circulating metabolites. Studies indicate that counteracting the damage to GAGs using dietary compounds improve vascular complications. In this article, we describe the methods to analyze the effect of diet-derived metabolites such as metabolites of flavonoids on endothelial inflammation and cell surface glycosaminoglycans.
糖萼是覆盖血管内皮腔侧的生物活性屏障，由糖胺聚糖（带有糖胺聚糖（GAG）侧链的核心蛋白）、糖蛋白和血浆蛋白组成。有证据表明，内皮糖萼的结构和功能的破坏会加剧血管炎症和动脉粥样硬化。在糖尿病中，糖萼的 GAG 成分会发生重塑，内皮 GAG 的这些改变会对血管功能产生负面影响。因此，在改变的脉管系统中保留和恢复 GAG 可能是改善糖尿病和代谢综合征血管并发症的一种新策略。人体研究支持广泛存在于水果和蔬菜中的类黄酮对血管的有益作用。类黄酮在人类的肠道微生物群和消化酶中被广泛代谢，这表明它们的生物活性可能通过其循环代谢物介导。研究表明，使用饮食化合物对抗 GAG 的损伤可以改善血管并发症。在本文中，我们描述了分析饮食衍生代谢物（如类黄酮代谢物）对内皮炎症和细胞表面糖胺聚糖的影响的方法。
