“…Roles for carbohydrates in recognition and signaling processes in eucaryotic organisms have been the subject of intensive investigation for the past 35 years (Ashwell & Harford, 1982). Since the initial demonstration that a carbohydrate moiety on the surface of erythrocyte membranes was essential for the attachment and entry of influenza virus (Burnet, 1951), N-linked glycans have been implicated in a broad spectrum of recognition processes, including the clearance of glycoproteins from the circulation by hepatic or reticuloendothelial cells (Ashwell & Harford, 1982 1987), cellular adhesion (Muller & Garish, 1978;Brodie et al, 1983; Chadwick & Garrod, 1983;Steineman & Parrish, 1987; Ziska & Henderson, 1988), hormone action (Sairam & Bhargavi, 1985), cytolysis (Ahrens & Ankel, 1987), metastasis (Dennis et al, 1987), and cell-cell recognition (Weinstock & Ballou, 1986), as well as the regulation of many cellular functions (Ashwell & Harford, 1982). Within the past 5 years, several comprehensive reviews have been written on the structure, biosynthesis, and function of N-linked carbohydrates (Ashwell & Harford, 1982;Baenziger, 1984;Goldstein et al, 1984;Schachter, 1984;Yet et al, 1987).…”