Structural and functional studies of enzymes involved in glycosaminoglycan synthesis and degradation

本研究旨在研究糖胺聚糖（GAGs）合成和降解过程中酶的结构和功能特征。GAGs是带负电荷的线性多糖，对于提供结缔组织的弹性、生长因子和其他蛋白质的储存、参与组织修复和通过受体发出信号至关重要。gag的存在通常与高等生物有关；然而，它们并不是真核生物独有的。一些特殊的微生物也能产生这些聚合物的非硫酸盐形式。哺乳动物的gag通过水解酶的作用进行快速周转。细菌进化出了使用一种分解机制来降解GAGs的酶，即多糖分解酶。这些酶帮助细菌通过降解表面多糖或利用gag作为食物来源进入哺乳动物细胞。

This proposal aims at a structural and functional characterization of enzymes involved in synthesis and degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). GAGs are negatively charged linear polysaccharides that are essential for providing resilience to connective tissues, storage of growth factors and other proteins, participate in tissue repair and signaling through receptors. The presence of GAGs is usually associated with higher organisms; however, they are not unique to eukaryotes. Several specialized microorganisms also produce unsulfated forms of these polymers. Mammalian GAGs undergo rapid turnover through action of hydrolases. Bacteria evolved enzymes that use a lytic mechanism to degrade GAGs, namely polysaccharide lyases. These enzymes help bacteria to gain access to mammalian cells by degrading the surface polysaccharides or to utilize GAGs as a food source.