Carbohydrates – Comprehensive Studies on Glycobiology and Glycotechnology.

Abstract

Glycosylation adorns more than one half of the proteins in eukaryotic cells [1,2]. This post-translational modification plays an indispensible role in many important biological events, especially on cell surface [1,3]. Alterations in carbohydrate structures are known to correlate with the changes in protein stability and clearance, as well as various physiological functions including cell-cell adhesion, inflammation, tumor metastasis, and infection of bacteria and viruses [4-8]. Although glycosylation is essential for the formation and progression of various diseases, study of this subject is hampered by lack of effective tools available to date, in addition to structural heterogeneity and complexity of carbohydrates.