Structural studies on carbohydrate modifying enzymes

碳水化合物是四大类生物大分子之一，也是药物设计的主要靶点。我们已经开发了碳水化合物合成酶的生产方法，并将确定这些酶的结构，为基于结构的抑制剂设计提供基础。这项研究将使我们能够了解这些酶在正常情况下是如何发挥作用的，以及它们在癌症等疾病状态下是如何发挥作用的。长期的结果将是对这组鲜为人知的酶的认识显著增强，并开发具有新的治疗应用的基于碳水化合物的新化学物质。

Carbohydrates form one of four major classes of biological macromolecules, and are major targets for drug design. We have developed methods for the production of carbohydrate synthesising enzymes and will determine the structures of these enzymes to provide the foundation for structure based design of inhibitors. The research will allow us to understand how these enzymes function in normal circumstances and how they malfunction in disease states such as cancer. The long-term outcome will be a significantly enhanced body of knowledge of this poorly understood group of enzymes and the development of new carbohydrate based chemicals with novel therapeutic applications.