Heparan Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate, and Keratan Sulfate as Regulators of Tumor Malignancy.
Ohkawa Yuki Y, Taniguchi Naoyuki N
All mammalian cells, which include cancer cells, express sugar chains on their cell surfaces. These sugar chains bind with proteins, lipids, and RNAs. These chains consist of as few as two or three monosaccharides in the shortest chains, and as many as several hundred to a thousand monosaccharides in the longest chains. The chains appear to have a multilayered structure, which makes cells appear to be covered in a coating of sugar. The expression patterns and levels of these sugar chains, also known as the glycocalyx, vary greatly depending on the cell or tissue, and are therefore thought to perform unique localized biological functions. Furthermore, changes in the glycocalyx changes in conjunction with the onset of disease are believed to be closely related to the development of pathological conditions. In this study, we focus on glycosaminoglycans such as heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and keratan sulfate-relatively long chains of glycans that constitute the glycocalyx-and introduce their biological functions and potential applications in cancer treatment.