Glycosaminoglycans

Discussion

• glycosaminoglycans are linear polysaccharides composed of repeating disaccharides units, usually more than 20 per chain;
  • glycosaminoglycans attach to a protein core forming a proteoglycan;
• two major glycosaminoglycans w/ in cartilage ground substance consist of chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate;
• shared characteristics include:
  • straight chains with no branching;
  • disaccharide repeating units of glycosamino-glycans are composed of two monosaccharide units;
  • one unit is always an hexosamine; (amino group of the hexosamine is N-acetylated);
  • second monosaccharide unit consists of the repeating disaccharide is of either hexuronate or galactose;
• misc: mucopolysaccharidoses are a group of disorders characterized by inability to degrade glycoaminoglycans

References

• Characterization of aggregating proteoglycans from the proliferative, maturing, hypertrophic, and calcifying zones of the cartilaginous physis.
• Synthesis of chondrocytic keratan sulphate-containing proteoglycans by human chondrosarcoma cells in long-term cell culture.
• Hyalograft C: hyaluronan-based scaffolds in tissue-engineered cartilage.