Proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans research

Proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans are large, heavily glycosylated molecules embedded in the extracellular matrix and on cell surfaces, where they regulate how cells sense and respond to their environment. By interacting with receptors such as CD44 and Toll-like receptors, and by modulating the availability of growth factors and signaling proteins, molecules like hyaluronan and heparan sulfate shape processes as varied as inflammation, angiogenesis, and the strengthening of synaptic connections in the brain. Researchers are working to understand how the precise sulfation patterns and chain lengths of these molecules encode distinct biological signals, and how dysregulation of their synthesis or degradation contributes to disease states including cancer, fibrosis, and neurodegeneration. A central open question is how cells read the structural complexity of the glycosaminoglycan code with enough specificity to produce coordinated and context-dependent responses.

Works

64,882

Total citations

1,711,564

Keywords

HyaluronanProteoglycansHeparan SulfateCD44Cell SignalingGlycosaminoglycans