Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 4 de 4
Filter
2.
Rev. bras. pesqui. méd. biol ; Braz. j. med. biol. res;32(5): 529-38, May 1999.
Article in English | LILACS | ID: lil-233471

ABSTRACT

The distribution and structure of heparan sulfate and heparin are briefly reviewed. Heparan sulfate is a ubiquitous compound of animal cells whose structure has been maintained throughout evolution, showing an enormous variability regarding the relative amounts of its disaccharide units. Heparin, on the other hand, is present only in a few tissues and species of the animal kingdom and in the form of granules inside organelles in the cytoplasm of special cells. Thus, the distribution as well as the main structural features of the molecule, including its main disaccharide unit, have been maintained through evolution. These and other studies led to the proposal that heparan sulfate may be involved in the cell-cell recognition phenomena and control of cell growth, whereas heparin may be involved in defense mechanisms against bacteria and other foreign materials. All indications obtained thus far suggest that these molecules perform the same functions in vertebrates and invertebrates


Subject(s)
Animals , Cell Physiological Phenomena , Heparin , Heparitin Sulfate , Glycosaminoglycans , Heparin/physiology , Heparitin Sulfate/biosynthesis , Heparitin Sulfate/physiology , Invertebrates , Mollusca , Vertebrates
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL