Glycosaminoglycans Metabolism
1Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
2Department of Biomaterials, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
3Gene therapy laboratory, Liver Unit, School of Biomedical Sciences, Austral University, Pilar, Argentina
4Department of Experimental Medical Science, Biomedical Center D12, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Glycosaminoglycans Metabolism
Description
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) can be grouped into four subfamilies named chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS), heparan sulfate/heparin (HS/HE), hyaluronan (HA), and keratan sulfate (KS).
With the exception of HA, GAG chains are carried on core proteins, constituting the glucidic moieties of proteoglycan (PG) macromolecules. PGs and GAGs play multiple roles: stabilization of the fibrillar extracellular matrix (ECM), control of hydration, regulation of tissue, and organism development by controlling cell cycle, cell behavior, and differentiation. The modification of the synthesis of the GAG portion of PGs during ageing or after pathological events is of fundamental importance for the understanding of matrix biology. GAGs chains, for example, interact with growth factors and morphogens; a modification of their synthesis can alter proper embryonic development, leading to severe malformations or ultimately lethality both in affected model organisms and humans. For example, kidney agenesis, cardiac malformations, abnormal mast cells, somatic overgrowth, lung dysfunction, and chondrodysplasia are some phenotypes of mice in which genes mediating GAG biosynthesis have been knocked out. Besides, alteration of GAG metabolism has been involved in tumor progression, pregnancy, and fibrosis process. On the other hand, recent studies on cell differentiation have led to the use of GAG chains in the preparation of innovative and biocompatible biomaterials for cell culture, surgery, tissue engineering applications, in certain cases in combination with growth factors, wound healing, and immunoadjuvant.
We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand all the various aspects in which GAGs are involved. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- GAG metabolism, synthetic pathways, enzyme regulation, and cell control on enzymes expression
- GAG enzymes correlation: GAGosome formation, activity, and alteration
- GAG chains catabolism, from endocitosis to degradation, lysosomal activity, and extracellular degradations
- GAG activities, from ECM organization to cell behavior control: receptor interactions, intracellular pathways, and cellular target
- GAG pathologies, from connective tissue to accumulation diseases
- Nanotechnologies: innovative methods and models to study, visualize, characterize, and so forth GAG chains
- GAGs in organisms' development
- Use of GAG in the development of new biomaterials
- Selective binding of growth factors to GAG for biomaterial applications
- GAG metabolism alteration in tumor, fibrosis, or pregnancy process
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