Sensing Glycans as Biochemical Messages by Tissue Lectins: The Sugar Code at Work in Vascular Biology

Abstract

Although a plethora of players has already been revealed to be engaged in the haemostatic system, a fundamental consideration of the molecular nature of information coding can give further explorations of the mechanisms of blood clotting, platelet functionality and vascular trafficking direction. By any measures, looking at ranges of occurrence and of potential for structural versatility, at strategic positioning to influence protein and cell sociology as well as at dynamics of processing and restructuring for phenotypic variability, using sugars as an alphabet of life for generating the glycan part of glycoconjugates is a success story. The handiwork by the complex system for glycan biosynthesis renders biochemical messages of exceptionally high coding capacity available. They are read and translated into cellular effects by receptors termed lectins. The different levels of regulation on both sides, that is, glycan and lectin, establish an intriguingly fine-tuned capacity for functional pairing. The emerging insights into the highly branched routes of glycosylation, into lectin structures up to complete characterization in solution and the shape of lectin networks, first obtained for the three selectins, now extended to considering many other C-type lectins, galectins and siglecs, as well as into intra- and inter-family cross-talk and cooperations are sure to push boundaries in our understanding of the molecular basis of haemostasis.

A lectin-coupled porous silicon-based biosensor: label-free optical detection of bacteria in a real-time mode

“…In addition to the nutritional role of carbohydrates as an energy resource, many of the vital functions of living cells such as movement, structural protection, cell–cell recognition, cell junction, carry out through proteins and lipids that are glycosylated 39 . Huge structural diversity at cell surface glycans in contrast to DNA and proteins (even between cells from one species) introduce them as a unique identity card for cell identification 40 . The similarity of physicochemical properties, despite the unique structural complexity of carbohydrate, limits the detection of them with common methods based on the chromatography or spectroscopy for biosensing purposes 24 , 41 .…”

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The emerging role of galectins in (re)myelination and its potential for developing new approaches to treat multiple sclerosis

“…Tissue receptors (lectins) are present that will 'read' these sugar-encoded signals, followed by 'translation' into effects, eliciting a broad variety of post-binding activities [32][33][34]. This functional pairing does not only depend on the complementarity of the direct ligand(glycan)-receptor(lectin) contact but also on topological parameters to achieve the inherently high levels of selectivity and specificity, letting only certain glycoconjugates with distinct (cognate) glycan display become counterreceptors for a tissue lectin [35,36]. Following this reasoning, that is, a function of this interplay in "establishment of the cell-cell contacts and possibly also as mediators of communication between the surface and the interior of the cell", and the abundance of glycoconjugates in the nervous system, extracts of the electric organ tissue of Electrophorus electricus proved to be the source of a lectin specific for β-galactosides that became the first member of the ga(lactose-binding)lectin family [37].…”