Biological Functions of Glycans

Pascal Gagneux; Thierry Hennet; Ajit Varki

doi:10.1101/glycobiology.4e.7

Biological Functions of Glycans

Review

In: Essentials of Glycobiology [Internet]. 4th edition. Cold Spring Harbor (NY): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2022. Chapter 7.

Authors

Pascal Gagneux, Thierry Hennet, Ajit Varki

Book Editors

Book Affiliations

¹ Distinguished Professor of Medicine and of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Co-Director, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
² Professor of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Director, National Center for Functional Glycomics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
³ Distinguished Professor of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Co-Director, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
⁴ Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Chair, Professor of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
⁵ Sr. Eminent Scholar in Drug Discovery, Georgia Research Alliance William Henry Terry Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
⁶ Professor of Mycology, ETH Zürich, Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, Zürich, Switzerland
⁷ Distinguished Research Professor, Georgia Athletics Association Professor in Complex Carbohydrate Research, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
⁸ Endowed Chair and Professor, Yabumoto Department of Intractable Disease Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
⁹ Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia and Principal Research Leader, Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
¹⁰ Professor and Eminent Scholar Emeritus, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
¹¹ Professor, Departments of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
¹² Director of Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany, Professor, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany

PMID: 35536978
Bookshelf ID: NBK579984
DOI: 10.1101/glycobiology.4e.7

Excerpt

This chapter provides an overview of the biological functions of glycans in three broad categories: structural roles in, on, and outside cells; energy metabolism, including nutrient storage and sequestration; and information carriers, that is, specific recognition—most commonly by glycan-binding proteins of intrinsic or extrinsic origin. The chapter then presents some general principles for understanding and further exploring biological functions of glycans. For details, see the sources cited and other chapters in this book.

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