Researchers are finding drug leads as they tease out pathways of cellular glycosylation
From the July 30, 2007 issue of Chemical & Engineering News
Sugar Medicine
Researchers are finding drug leads as they tease out pathways of cellular glycosylation
Stu Borman
THE ATTACHMENT of sugars to proteins or lipids in cells is one of the most difficult molecular modifications to study because sugar structures are so complex and variable. But researchers are steadily overcoming the obstacles involved, and their efforts have made it increasingly clear that glycosylation, as this class of reactions is known, plays key roles in human health and disease.
"Carbohydrate structures are absolutely critical for biological activity," says professor of biochemistry and molecular biology Michael Pierce of the University of Georgia, Athens. "So we can't ignore glycosylation."
Researchers working at the interface between glycosylation and drug discovery indeed have been working hard to better understand the physiological effects of changes in biomolecular glycosylation and to devise better ways to diagnose and treat conditions that arise when glycosylation goes awry.
Glycosylation goes wrong, for instance, in a number of human diseases caused by malfunctions in the synthesis or breakdown of complex sugar structures, or glycans. Scientists are trying to find out more about the mechanisms that underlie these conditions so drugs can be designed to treat patients that have them. Researchers have also been developing finesse in glycosylation chemistry to create libraries of drug candidates, to improve drug properties, and even to modify the behavior of whole cells.
Read the whole article on the C&EN Web Site and let me know your thoughts!
Sugar Medicine
Researchers are finding drug leads as they tease out pathways of cellular glycosylation
Stu Borman
THE ATTACHMENT of sugars to proteins or lipids in cells is one of the most difficult molecular modifications to study because sugar structures are so complex and variable. But researchers are steadily overcoming the obstacles involved, and their efforts have made it increasingly clear that glycosylation, as this class of reactions is known, plays key roles in human health and disease.
"Carbohydrate structures are absolutely critical for biological activity," says professor of biochemistry and molecular biology Michael Pierce of the University of Georgia, Athens. "So we can't ignore glycosylation."
Researchers working at the interface between glycosylation and drug discovery indeed have been working hard to better understand the physiological effects of changes in biomolecular glycosylation and to devise better ways to diagnose and treat conditions that arise when glycosylation goes awry.
Glycosylation goes wrong, for instance, in a number of human diseases caused by malfunctions in the synthesis or breakdown of complex sugar structures, or glycans. Scientists are trying to find out more about the mechanisms that underlie these conditions so drugs can be designed to treat patients that have them. Researchers have also been developing finesse in glycosylation chemistry to create libraries of drug candidates, to improve drug properties, and even to modify the behavior of whole cells.
Read the whole article on the C&EN Web Site and let me know your thoughts!
posted by Joseph McKenna at
12/14/2007 05:06:00 PM
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