Coreceptor functions of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans.

Receptor-ligand interactions play an important role in many biological processes by triggering specific cellular responses. These interactions are frequently regulated by coreceptors that facilitate, alter, or inhibit signaling. Coreceptors work in parallel with other specific and accessory molecules to coordinate receptor-ligand interactions.

Role of HSPGs in Systemic Bacterial Infections.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are at the forefront of host-microbe interactions. Cell surface HSPGs are thought to promote infection as attachment and internalization receptors for many bacterial pathogens and as soluble inhibitors of host immunity when released from the cell surface by ectodomain shedding. However, the importance of HSPG-pathogen interactions in vivo has yet to be clearly established.

Host syndecan-1 promotes listeriosis by inhibiting intravascular neutrophil extracellular traps.

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are at the forefront of host-microbe interactions. Molecular and cell-based studies suggest that HSPG-pathogen interactions promote pathogenesis by facilitating microbial attachment and invasion of host cells. However, the specific identity of HSPGs, precise mechanisms by which HSPGs promote pathogenesis, and the in vivo relevance of HSPG-pathogen interactions remain to be determined.

Behavioral and physiological evaluation of sows raised in outdoors systems in the Brazilian semiarid region.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biochemical, behavioral, and physiological parameters in pregnant sows of native and improved crossbreeds reared within a thermally stressful outdoors system. Twenty pregnant sows of two different genetic groups (native and improved lineage) were used in this research, all animals were distributed in a completely randomized design. The behavioral evaluation was organized in subdivided plots, the sub-plots were the four periods of the day (early morning, morning, afternoon, and night), and the evaluation of physiological parameters were in three periods of the day (9:00 A.

Glycobiology of syndecan-1 in bacterial infections.

Syndecan-1 (Sdc1) is a major cell surface heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycan of epithelial cells, a cell type targeted by many bacterial pathogens early in their pathogenesis. Loss of Sdc1 in mice is a gain-of-function mutation that significantly decreases the susceptibility to several bacterial infections, suggesting that subversion of Sdc1 is an important virulence strategy. HS glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains of cell surface Sdc1 promote bacterial pathogenesis by facilitating the attachment of bacteria to host cells.

Syndecan-1 limits the progression of liver injury and promotes liver repair in acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice.

Unlabelled: Accidental or intentional misuse of acetaminophen (APAP) is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the Western world. Although mechanisms that trigger APAP-induced liver injury (AILI) are well known, those that halt the progression of APAP liver disease and facilitate liver recovery are less understood. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) bind to and regulate various tissue injury factors through their heparan sulfate (HS) chains, but the importance of HSPGs in liver injury in vivo remains unknown.

Glycosaminoglycans and infection.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are complex linear polysaccharides expressed in intracellular compartments, at the cell surface, and in the extracellular environment where they interact with various molecules to regulate many cellular processes implicated in health and disease. Subversion of GAGs is a pathogenic strategy shared by a wide variety of microbial pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi. Pathogens use GAGs at virtually every major portals of entry to promote their attachment and invasion of host cells, movement from one cell to another, and to protect themselves from immune attack.

Carbohydrate-Carbohydrate Interactions Mediated by Sulfate Esters and Calcium Provide the Cell Adhesion Required for the Emergence of Early Metazoans.

Early metazoans had to evolve the first cell adhesion mechanism addressed to maintain a distinctive multicellular morphology. As the oldest extant animals, sponges are good candidates for possessing remnants of the molecules responsible for this crucial evolutionary innovation. Cell adhesion in sponges is mediated by the calcium-dependent multivalent self-interactions of sulfated polysaccharides components of extracellular membrane-bound proteoglycans, namely aggregation factors.

Molecular functions of syndecan-1 in disease.

Syndecan-1 is a cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan that binds to many mediators of disease pathogenesis. Through these molecular interactions, syndecan-1 can modulate leukocyte recruitment, cancer cell proliferation and invasion, angiogenesis, microbial attachment and entry, host defense mechanisms, and matrix remodeling. The significance of syndecan-1 interactions in disease is underscored by the striking pathological phenotypes seen in the syndecan-1 null mice when they are challenged with disease-instigating agents or conditions.

Rising from the sea: correlations between sulfated polysaccharides and salinity in plants.

High salinity soils inhibit crop production worldwide and represent a serious agricultural problem. To meet our ever-increasing demand for food, it is essential to understand and engineer salt-resistant crops. In this study, we evaluated the occurrence and function of sulfated polysaccharides in plants.

Diverse functions of glycosaminoglycans in infectious diseases.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are complex carbohydrates that are expressed ubiquitously and abundantly on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix (ECM). The extraordinary structural diversity of GAGs enables them to interact with a wide variety of biological molecules. Through these interactions, GAGs modulate various biological processes, such as cell adhesion, proliferation and migration, ECM assembly, tissue repair, coagulation, and immune responses, among many others.

Heparins from porcine and bovine intestinal mucosa: Are they similar drugs?

Increasing reports of bleeding and peri- or post-operative blood dyscrasias in Brazil were possibly associated with the use of heparin from bovine instead of porcine intestine. These two pharmaceutical grade heparins were analysed for potential differences. NMR analyses confirmed that porcine heparin is composed of mainly trisulfated disaccharides -->4-alpha-IdoA2S-1-->4-alpha-GlcNS6S-1-->.

Ca2+-transport in sea urchin unfertilized eggs: regulation by endogenous sulfated polysaccharides and K+.

Previous data from our laboratory showed that the reticulum of the sea cucumber smooth muscle body wall retains both a sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) and a sulfated polysaccharide. In this invertebrate, the transport of Ca(2+) by the SERCA is naturally inhibited by these endogenous sulfated polysaccharides. The inhibition is reverted by K(+) leading to an enhancement of the Ca(2+) transport rate.

Occurrence of sulfated galactans in marine angiosperms: evolutionary implications.

We report for the first time that marine angiosperms (seagrasses) possess sulfated polysaccharides, which are absent in terrestrial and freshwater plants. The structure of the sulfated polysaccharide from the seagrass Ruppia maritima was determined. It is a sulfated D-galactan composed of the following regular tetrasaccharide repeating unit: [3-beta-D-Gal-2(OSO3)-1-->4-alpha-D-Gal-1-->4-alpha-D-Gal-1-->3-beta-D-Gal-4(OSO3)-1-->].