Low sulfated heparins target multiple proteins for central nervous system repair.

The lack of endogenous repair following spinal cord injury (SCI) accounts for the frequent permanent deficits for which effective treatments are absent. Previously, we demonstrated that low sulfated modified heparin mimetics (LS-mHeps) attenuate astrocytosis, suggesting they may represent a novel therapeutic approach. mHeps are glycomolecules with structural similarities to resident heparan sulfates (HS), which modulate cell signaling by both sequestering ligands, and acting as cofactors in the formation of ligand-receptor complexes.

Structural characterization and anti-inflammatory activity of two novel polysaccharides from the sea squirt, Ascidiella aspersa.

It is now recognized that certain polysaccharides can exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, including the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparin that is widely used as an anti-coagulant drug. However, it would be desirable to identify molecules that retain the anti-inflammatory actions of heparin, but that are devoid of significant anti-coagulant activity. In the present study we have identified a number of novel GAG and GAG-like polysaccharides (VRP327) from marine organisms, most of which were resistant to digestion by heparinase II and chondroitinase ABC.

Photochemical depolymerisation of dermatan sulfate and analysis of the generated oligosaccharides.

Radical depolymerisation is the method of choice for the depolymerisation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), especially when enzymatic depolymerisation cannot be performed due to the lack of suitable enzymes. The established Fenton type free radical depolymerisation generates radicals from a solution of H2O2 in the presence of Cu(2+) or Fe(2+). When applied to dermatan sulfate (DS), the Fenton type depolymerisation of DS (Panagos, Thomson, Bavington, & Uhrin, 2012) produced exclusively oligosaccharides with reducing end GalNAc, which was partially oxidised to acetylgalactosaminic acid.

Prospecting for new bacterial metabolites: a glossary of approaches for inducing, activating and upregulating the biosynthesis of bacterial cryptic or silent natural products.

Covering: up to 2015. Over the centuries, microbial secondary metabolites have played a central role in the treatment of human diseases and have revolutionised the pharmaceutical industry. With the increasing number of sequenced microbial genomes revealing a plethora of novel biosynthetic genes, natural product drug discovery is entering an exciting second golden age.

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfates from the body wall of the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali: conformation, selectin binding, and biological activity.

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (fCS) extracted from the sea cucumber Holothuria forskali is composed of the following repeating trisaccharide unit: → 3)GalNAcβ4,6S(1 → 4) [FucαX(1 → 3)]GlcAβ(1 →, where X stands for different sulfation patterns of fucose (X = 3,4S (46%), 2,4S (39%), and 4S (15%)). As revealed by NMR and molecular dynamics simulations, the fCS repeating unit adopts a conformation similar to that of the Le(x) blood group determinant, bringing several sulfate groups into close proximity and creating large negative patches distributed along the helical skeleton of the CS backbone. This may explain the high affinity of fCS oligosaccharides for L- and P-selectins as determined by microarray binding of fCS oligosaccharides prepared by Cu(2+)-catalyzed Fenton-type and photochemical depolymerization.

Characterisation of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin/dermatan sulfate from the lumpsucker fish, C. lumpus.

The lumpsucker, Cyclopterus lumpus, a cottoid teleost fish found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, and North Pacific, was identified as a possible source of GAGs. The GAGs present in the C. lumpus dorsal hump and body wall tissue were isolated and purified.

Biochemical and structural characterisation of a haloalkane dehalogenase from a marine Rhodobacteraceae.

A putative haloalkane dehalogenase has been identified in a marine Rhodobacteraceae and subsequently cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme has highest activity towards the substrates 1,6-dichlorohexane, 1-bromooctane, 1,3-dibromopropane and 1-bromohexane. The crystal structures of the enzyme in the native and product bound forms reveal a large hydrophobic active site cavity.

Responses of hyperthermophilic crenarchaea to UV irradiation.

Background: DNA damage leads to cellular responses that include the increased expression of DNA repair genes, repression of DNA replication and alterations in cellular metabolism. Archaeal information processing pathways resemble those in eukaryotes, but archaeal damage response pathways remain poorly understood.

Results: We analyzed the transcriptional response to UV irradiation in two related crenarchaea, Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.

Stopping bacterial adhesion: a novel approach to treating infections.

Adhesion and colonization are prerequisites for the establishment of bacterial pathogenesis. The prevention of adhesion is an attractive target for the development of new therapies in the prevention of infection. Bacteria have developed a multiplicity of adhesion mechanisms commonly targeting surface carbohydrate structures, but our ability to rationally design effective antiadhesives is critically affected by the limitations of our knowledge of the human 'glycome' and of the bacterial function in relation to it.