Glycoproteins And Human Disease

Diverse alterations of glycosylation occur in diseases such as cancer, metastasis, leukemia, inflammatory and other diseases. The glycosylation abnormalities found in disease are the result of complex rearrangements of the oligosaccharide assembly by glycosyltransferases. This volume reviews several mechanisms that may underly the extremely complex alterations in disease. Disease specific glycosylation may contribute to the disease process by altering cellular functions, or may be exploited therapeutically. Specific therapy may be aimed at correcting glycosylation abnormalities based on knowledge of the mechanisms leading to the disease phenotype and the three-dimensional interactions between carbohydrates and carbohydrate-binding molecules.

Sugar chains (glycans) are often attached to proteins and lipids and have multiple roles in the organization and function of all organisms. "Essentials of Glycobiology" describes their biogenesis and function and offers a useful gateway to the understanding of glycans.

The elucidation during the latter half of the 20th century of the mechanisms by which information flows from nucleic acids to proteins has completely changed the face of biological research. Many diseases are caused by abnormalities in control mechanisms which are not immediately essential for life itself but which maintain the normal social behavior of differentiated cells in multicellular organisms. The complex sugar chains of glycoproteins and glycolipids are believed to play important roles in the control of cellular functions and in recognition between the cell and its cellular and fluid environment. Investigations into the abnormalities of complex sugar chain assembly are expected to yield an important new underatanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of human diseases. This volume discusses several representative diseases which emphasize the current status of glycopathology, and will stimulate further research in this exciting field.

Part I covers modern advances in the determination of glycoprotein structure and in the biosynthesis of mammalian, bacterial, yeast, plant and insect glycoproteins. There are also two chapters on functional aspects (glycoprotein hormones and collagens). The content of the volume is very comprehensive in that, most contributors have focussed on discussing, in depth, the wealth of most recent advances in their field, and referring to previous reviews of older work for background information. This method can effectively produce a very wide subject coverage in a smaller number of chapters/volumes. The volume is an important information source for all glycobiologist researchers (senior investigators, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students), and as a good, comprehensive, reference text for scientists working in the life sciences.

Part I covers modern advances in the determination ofglycoprotein structure and in the biosynthesis of mammalian, bacterial, yeast, plant and insect glycoproteins. There are alsotwo chapters on functional aspects (glycoprotein hormones andcollagens). The content of the volume is very comprehensive in that, mostcontributors have focussed on discussing, in depth, the wealthof most recent advances in their field, and referring to previousreviews of older work for background information. This method caneffectively produce a very wide subject coverage in a smallernumber of chapters/volumes. The volume is an importantinformation source for all glycobiologist researchers (seniorinvestigators, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students), andas a good, comprehensive, reference text for scientists working inthe life sciences.

This book discusses glycobiology and various forms of human diseases. Topics covered include immunoglobulins, inflammation and glycosylation, the role and therapeutic significance of natural anti-glycan antibodies in malignancies and in normal and aberrant pregnancy, identifying urinary glycans as a possible method for the diagnosis of lysosomal storage diseases, glycobiology of human milk (biological roles and diseases) and pectins as biological modulators of human physiological reactions. The book includes analysis of comprehensive data and some productive conclusions and perspectives.

It has been predicted that nearly half of all human proteins are glycosylated indicating the significance of glycoproteins in human health and disease. For example, the glycans attached to proteins have emerged as important biomarkers in the diagnosis of diseases such as cancers and play a significant role in how pathogenic viruses gain entry into human cells. The study of glycoproteins has now become a truly proteomic science. In the last few years, technology developments including in silico methods, high throughput separation and detection techniques have accelerated the characterization of glycoproteins in cells and tissues. Glyco-engineering coupled to rapid recombinant protein production has facilitated the determination of glycoprotein structures key to exploring and exploiting their functional roles. Each chapter in this volume is written by experts in the field and together provide a review of the state of the art in the emerging field of glycoproteomics.

Glycobiology is an emerging field of studying glycans (sugars) and glycoconjugates that are essentially involved in almost all biological processes, from fine-tuning glycoprotein function to protein-protein interactions, signaling, immune response, host-pathogen interactions, etc. However, due to structural complexity of glycans and analytical challenges this exciting field was lagging behind other areas of biology. With technological advancements growing number of glycans’ functions are being discovered and the study of glycans is becoming a cutting-edge discipline in basic and clinical research. Despite recent developments in glycobiology field, many aspects of glycosylation process still remain unknown, both in a healthy human organism and in pathological states. Human glycome is dynamic and changes with physiological triggers, immune challenges and disease. Atypical glycosylation is consequently a subject of disease biomarker research, and a target for therapeutic interventions. On the other hand, properties of glycosylated biotherapeutics are predominantly determined by their glycans. The Role of Glycosylation in Health and Disease provides a comprehensive overview of types and functions of glycans in a healthy human organism as well as their role in pathophysiology of different diseases and efficiency of glycosylated biotherapeutics. Written by the experts in the field, this book aims to bring glycobiology field closer to students, researchers in life sciences and professionals in biopharmaceutical industry.