Abstract
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a family of linear and negatively charged polysaccharides that exist ubiquitously on the human cell surface as well as in the extracellular matrix. GAGs interact with a wide range of proteins, including proteases, growth factors, cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules, enabling them to mediate many physiological processes, such as protein function, cellular adhesion and signaling. GAG-protein interactions participate in and intervene in a variety of human diseases, including cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, neurodegenerative diseases and tumors. The breakthrough in analytical tools and approaches during the last two decades has facilitated a greater understanding of the importance of GAG-protein interactions and their roles in human diseases. This review focuses on aspects of the molecular basis and mechanisms of GAG-protein interactions involved in human disease. The most recent advances in analytical tools, especially mass spectrometry-based GAG sequencing and binding motif characterization methods, are introduced. An update of selected families of GAG binding proteins is presented. Perspectives on development of novel therapeutics targeting specific GAG-protein interactions are also covered in this review.
Introduction
Recently, COVID-19 disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has led to medical and economic disruptions worldwide. Reports have shown that heparan sulfate (HS) is an indispensable cofactor for SARS-CoV-2 infection by interacting with both SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) (; ). Evidence has shown that heparin and its derivatives may contribute to the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection and side effects (; Tandon et al., 2020) by targeting the interaction between HS and related proteins. These studies have emphasized the importance of the interactions between glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteins in disease and their roles as novel therapeutic targets, these interactions have been studied for decades but still lag behind the study of protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions due to the structural complexity of GAGs and limitations of analytical tools.
GAGs are a family of linear and negatively charged polysaccharides that are commonly expressed in the interior and surrounding environment of most cell types, with a molecular weight of approximately 10–100 kDa (). Among the naturally occurring polysaccharides, the structure of GAGs is extremely complex due to alterations in residue types, glycosidic bond types, sulfation levels, sulfation positions and chain lengths. According to the type of hexosamine, hexose or hexuronic acid in the disaccharide repeating units and the glycosidic linkage between these units, GAGs are divided into five main types: nonsulfated GAGs, such as hyaluronic acid (HA) (), and sulfated GAGs, including heparin and HS (), chondroitin sulfate (CS) (), dermatan sulfate (DS) (Yamada and Sugahara, 2008), and keratan sulfate (KS) (). Heparin (∼2.3 sulfate groups per disaccharide) and HS (∼0.8 sulfate groups per disaccharide) consist of basic disaccharide repeats (GlcA/IdoAβ1-4GlcNAcα1-4) n, while the 3- and 6-positions of the glucosamine residue or the carboxyl group of uronic acid may be substituted or not substituted with sulfate groups. Heparin and HS have received the most attention and have been studied extensively due to their high sulfation and diverse biological activities, which are also our first concerns herein. Except for HA, all mammalian GAGs are linked to a core protein to form proteoglycans (PGs). The structure of the protein cores, the composition of the glycosaminoglycan chains, and the distribution of the proteoglycan all affect the biological activity of proteoglycans ().
GAGs are of vital importance in the field of glycobiology, especially their multiple roles as signal molecules that regulate protein activity and act as structural components and effectors of cellular activity. GAGs have been demonstrated to modulate numerous biological processes, ranging from embryonic development, regulation of enzymatic activities, extracellular matrix assembly, and ligand binding to receptors to the regulation of cell signaling, through the regulation of distinct proteins, such as growth factors, chemokines, and adhesion molecules (Vallet et al., 2021). These processes are particularly important when related to diseases, including cardiovascular disease (Wight, 2018), cancer (), infectious diseases (), neurodegenerative diseases (), inflammatory responses (), and wound healing (). A schematic representation of the structure of GAGs and their interactions with proteins and functions relevant to specific diseases is shown in Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
The binding between GAGs and proteins are prominently ionic. Non-ionic forces, including hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction, sometimes also play a major role in forming the GAG-protein complexes (). It has been controversial that the binding between GAGs and proteins are non-specific until recently, as more and more studies have revealed the relatively high selectivity of GAG sequence to specifically bind to certain proteins. The binding posture and specificity were demonstrated in Figure 2, using a fibroblast growth factor (FGF)- FGF receptor (FGFR)-heparin complex as an example (). Furthermore, FGF1, and FGF2 signaling through FGFR 1c showed clearly different specificity when screening against a library of chemoenzymatically synthesized HS with defined structures (). Additional examples on specificity of GAG-protein interactions include a 2-O-sulfate-GlcA containing HS hexasaccharide selectively activating heparin cofactor II (), a 3-O-sulfated HS being preferentially recognized by SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (Tiwari et al., 2020), and a 3-O-sulfated HS octasaccharide specifically binding to herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein D (). Besides, high-throughput study using HS microarray revealed that HS-binding proteins, including FGF2 and several chemokines, require clearly different ligands on HS (Zong et al., 2017). A review focused on the topic of selectivity of GAG-protein interactions has been recently written by Kjellén and Lindahl (). The selectivity of these interactions is fundamental for designing HS mimetics as promising therapeutics.
FIGURE 2
There is increasing interest in exploring the essentials of GAG-protein interactions and their roles in human diseases. In particular, novel therapeutics targeting specific GAG-protein interactions have important application value, such as the treatment of coronary pneumonia. As the interaction between GAGs and proteins involves a wide range of physiological processes, the influence of their interaction on specific diseases and their potential therapeutic effects have attracted much attention in an effort to find new methods for treatment or prevention of disease. To synthesize structural analogs, remove or modify structures, or block the interaction with reagents, it is necessary to obtain defined mechanisms and binding sequences. The recent breakthroughs in analytical tools and approaches, especially mass spectrometry (MS)-based GAG sequencing and binding motif characterization methods, have facilitated a greater understanding of the structural basis and mechanisms of GAG-protein interactions, creating an opportunity to utilize the structural diversity of GAGs to discover novel therapeutics. Further understanding of the interaction process and mechanism between GAGs and proteins will contribute to the proper understanding of the occurrence and development of a great number of diseases and the development of new therapeutic approaches.
This review focuses on the interaction between GAGs and proteins and their effect in human disease. In addition, the molecular basis and mechanisms of GAG-protein interactions are introduced. The latest progress in GAG-binding proteins and analytical tools is also discussed. Moreover, perspectives on development of novel therapeutics targeting specific GAG-protein interactions are presented.
Human Diseases Related to GAG-Protein Interactions
Cardiovascular Disease
The first specific GAG-protein interaction described was heparin and antithrombin, which has important physiological significance and was used in the production of pharmaceutical heparin products as anticoagulants for treatment of thrombosis, embolism and thrombophlebitis. Heparin and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) inhibit coagulation factors Xa and IIA by combining with antithrombin III to prevent thrombosis. Since then, the function of GAGs and their interaction with proteins in the vascular system have been studied. Although heparin is successfully used to prevent thrombosis in hospitalized patients, it was reported to present a risk of bleeding at prophylactic doses (Sunseri et al., 2018). This prothrombotic adverse reaction, named heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), is mediated by immunity and is also caused by an interaction between heparin and protein. Heparin products form multimolecular complexes with antigenic platelet factor 4 (PF4), resulting in the formation of IgG platelet-activating antibodies which are against the heparin/PF4 complex, which triggers an immune response and induces platelet activation and aggregation (
Early studies have shown that GAGs accumulate in disease-prone areas of the vascular system, such as at branch points, and are often consistent with lipid deposition. Subsequent studies have shown that GAGs are covalently linked to specific core proteins and interact with different ligands within the interstitial space to help regulate vascular structure and function. PGs also interact with a variety of receptors on the surface of vascular cells, partially regulating the phenotype of vascular cells (Wight, 2018). For example, DSPG can promote the formation of atherosclerosis (
Tumors
In the last few decades, PGs have been found to be involved in the functions and mechanisms of cancer cells and play a key role in cancer cell adhesion, migration, invasion, and metastasis. HS proteoglycans (HSPGs) are proteins that are covalently linked with HS. The main HSPGs can be classified into two main categories: cell surface HSPGs (syndecans and glypicans) and basement membrane HSPGs (perlecan, agrin and collagen type XVIII). HSPGs are downregulated or upregulated in different tumors (
Infectious Disease
Given their ubiquity and abundant biological functions, GAGs are the main target of pathogens in the infection process and play an important role in the initial attachment of pathogens to host cells. Studies have shown that GAGs interact with microbial pathogens on the cell surface and ECMs to modulate microbial pathogenesis and host defense. Many pathogenic microorganisms, such as viruses (e.g., human papilloma virus (HPV) (
The latest evidence shows that HS, as a cofactor of SARS-CoV-2 infection, transforms the spinous process structure into an open conformation through interaction of the spike glycoprotein in the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 to promote the binding of adjacent ACE2 (
When the skin barrier is damaged, the GAGs at the wound site will change and can bind to pathogens, such as Merkel cell polyoma virus (MCV) (
Diabetic Complications
Diabetes encompasses a group of lifelong metabolic diseases characterized by chronic hyperglycemia due to multiple causes. According to World Health Organization statistics, diabetes is the disease with the most complications, including diabetic cardiopathy, diabetic ocular surface, and diabetic foot. One of the most important complications for diabetic patients is diabetic nephropathy. Diabetic nephropathy is a major microvascular complication in long-term diabetic patients. The prolonged hyperglycemia caused by diabetes can lead to glycosylation and non-enzymatic cross-linking between proteins and glucose or its derivatives (
Mucopolysaccharidoses
Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are a group of diseases caused by abnormal accumulation of GAGs. The patients are of genetic defects and produce no or deficient lysosomal enzymes to degrade metabolic GAGs. Based on the deficient enzyme and symptom, MPS are divided into seven different types and more subtypes. Unfortunately, there is no medical treatment can cure these diseases. Most studies are focused on the early diagnostics of MPS. Currently, enzyme replacement therapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation are primarily used in clinic to control the progress of MPS and improve the conditions of patients (Zhou et al., 2020).
In MPS patients, GAGs are accumulated in cells, blood and tissues, which consequents to pathological symptoms over time. However, the exact mechanism of biological interactions with accumulated GAGs and proteins remains unclear. Most recent research in this filed suggested that abnormally accumulated HS in MPS patients tightly bound to cathepsin V and inhibited its elastolytic activity. HS antagonist was able to restore the activity of cathepsin V (
Other Diseases
GAGs also play a crucial role in inflammation, neurological diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and mad cow disease) and other diseases. The important role of GAGs in the inflammatory response has been reported in previous studies. As the structural heterogeneity of HS is usually concentrated in the high-sulfate region, it can participate in almost every stage of leukocyte passage through the vascular wall and can interact with a variety of proteins, such as L-selectin, CXC-chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8), and histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) (
As summarized herein, nearly all types of major human diseases are related to GAGs more or less. There are still great demands for therapeutics to treat these diseases. Understanding the role of GAGs in these diseases and knowing how to modulate these physiological or pathological processes using artificial GAGs might open an era of discovering new drugs based on GAGs or targeting GAGs.
Glycosaminoglycan-Binding Proteins
Serpins
Serpin family protein proteinase inhibitors play a critical role in regulating proteinases in diverse physiologic processes by regulating the activity of serine and cysteine proteinases through a conformational trapping mechanism, providing a finely tuned time- and location-dependent regulation of proteinase activity (
Growth Factors
HSPGs interact with growth factors [e.g., FGFs (
Chemokines
Chemokines are a family of small cytokines that can be classified into four groups, CXC, CC, C, and CX3C, according to their shared structural characteristics and four cysteine residues in conserved locations. Some chemokines can be induced during an immune response to promote cells of the immune system to reach the infection site, while others participate in controlling the migration of cells during normal tissue maintenance or development processes (
Receptor for Pathogens
The interaction of GAGs with specific proteins on the surface of a variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi, enables microorganisms to take the first step in establishing infection. Heparin-binding adhesins associated with intracellular pathogens, including gpB, gpC, and gpD of herpes simplex virus (HSV), gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), herpesvirus filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) of Bordetella pertussis, CS surface protein of Plasmodium falciparum, and the trypanosome adhesin penetrin, are likely the best studied proteins (
Other Proteins
In addition to the above proteins, other proteins can also interact with GAGs, such as adhesion molecules, lipid or membrane-binding proteins, amyloid proteins and proteases. Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are a group of molecules that mediate contact and binding between cells or between cells and the extracellular matrix and can be divided into four main groups: the integrin family, the immunoglobulin superfamily, selectins (P, E, L) and cadherins. The interaction of GAGs with adhesion proteins involves a variety of physiological and pathological processes. For example, heparin tetrasaccharides specifically block the interactions of L- and P-selectins with antigen sialyl Lewis X-containing ligands, which show anti-inflammatory activity in vivo and prevent the adhesion of colon cancer cells to L- and P-selectin (
Both specific and nonspecific interactions in protein/glycosaminoglycan associations reconcile the two opposing views that emphasize either the dominance of structural complementarity, similar to that encountered in protein/protein interactions, or electrostatic forces. An enormous structural heterogeneity makes the search for specific protein “recognition elements” an extremely challenging undertaking. At the same time, the polyanionic nature of GAGs highlights the role of charge density as an important determinant of affinity to a range of proteins. To date, a large number of GAG-binding proteins have been identified. New cases of GAGs interacting with proteins are being discovered, and the update of selected families of GAG binding proteins is summarized in Table 1. Due to the structural heterogeneity of GAGs, the negatively charged GAGs tend to attract proteins in a nonspecific manner, and due to the specificity of different protein binding sequences, it is reasonable to believe that there are still numerous unknown GAG-protein interactions waiting to be discovered.
TABLE 1
| Heparin-binding protein | Related diseases | Physiological/Pathological role | Characteristics of GAG binding | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spike glycoprotein | COVID-19 | HS is a necessary co-factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection by interacting with both SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and ACE2 in the RBD. | HS transforms spinous process structure into open conformation through the interaction of receptor binding domain of spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, so as to promote the binding of ACE2 | |
| Tau, α-synuclein, and Aβ | Neurodegenerative diseases | Tau and α-synuclein aggregates bind HSPGs on the cell surface to mediate uptake and intracellular seeding | Tau aggregates require a precise gag structure with definite GAG fractions at the N- and 6-O- positions be substituted with sulfate groups, while the binding of α- synuclein to a Aβ is not so strict | Stopschinski et al. (2018) |
| HB-EGF | Cervical cancer | The expression of HB-EGF in tumor tissue was higher than that in stroma. Cervical cancer cells are the main source of HB-EGF. | HB-EGF is an important EGFR ligand in cervical cancer | |
| Transmembrane protein 184A (TMEM184A) | Angiogenesis | TMEM184A regulates angiogenesis by limiting endothelial cells proliferation and regulating extracellular growth | TMEM184A was identified as a heparin receptor in vascular cells. Heparin specifically binds to TMEM184A to induce anti-proliferative signaling | |
| CXCL8 | Inflammation | The binding of CXCL8 to GAGs on endothelial cell surfaces regulate neutrophil recruitment | Syndecan-4 (SDC4) was the potential proteoglycan co-receptor of CXCL8. CXCL8 binds to cell-surface HSPGs and leads to intracellular signal transduction in inflammatory tissue endothelium | |
| Borrelia glycosaminoglycan binding protein (Bgp) | Lyme disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi | A variety of Bgp present in B. burgdorferi provide functional redundancy during infection, which highlights the importance of GAGs as co-receptors for spirochetes adhering to host cells | The binding efficiency of Bgp to heparin was higher than that of chondroitin sulfate C | |
| FGF-2 | Ischemic heart repair | FGF-2 promotes angiogenesis after MI. HSPG enhances cell adhesion, promotes the biological activity of FGF-2 in angiogenesis, and protects FGF-2 from enzymatic hydrolysis | The specific binding of HSPG to FGF-2 protein 6 times stronger than that of FGF-2 and heparin | |
| Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase (RPTPσ) | Neural development and regeneration | RPTPσ has important functions in modulating neural development and regeneration | Both HS and CS bind to a series of lys residues located in the first Ig domain of RPTPσ. RPTPσ was aggregated by GAGs rich in 4,6-O-disulfated disaccharides | |
| C-type lectin 14a (CLEC14A) | Angiogenesis | CLEC14A is up-regulated during tumor angiogenesis and regulates endothelial cell migration and adhesion in vitro and angiogenesis in vivo | C-type lectin domain of CLEC14A binds 1:1 to heparin with nanomolar affinity. CLEC14A prefers highly charged polysaccharides | |
| Keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC or mCXCL1) and macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP2 or mCXCL2) | Inflammation | KC and MIP2 play important roles in transporting neutrophils to infected and injured sites | Different combinations of residues from the N-loop, 40s turn, β3-strand, and C-terminal helix form a binding surface within a monomer and both conserved residues. The binding interaction is mediated by both conserved residues and residues specific to chemokines | |
| Pre-S region of HBV envelope proteins | Hepatitis B | The human hepatic cell-binding site (i.e., the sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP)-binding site, with myristoylated pre-S1 (2–47)) and the low pH-dependent fusogenic domain (pre-S1 (9–24)) are required for targeting and endosomal escape, respectively | A novel heparin-binding site (pre-S1 (30–42)) in the N-terminal half of the pre-S1 region may interact with cell-surface HSPG. The amino acid residues Asp-31, Trp-32, and Asp-33 are essential for heparin-binding activity |
An update of selected families of GAG binding proteins is summarized.
In summary, GAGs interplay with a wide range of important proteins. These proteins belong to different families and play various roles in physiological or pathological processes. Selectivity is the key when studying the binding between GAGs and proteins. Because the ionic force between negative charges of GAGs and positive charges on proteins is the basis of their interaction, abnormally highly charged GAGs, such as oversulfated CS or oversulfated HS, usually bind to basic proteins with high affinity but little specificity, which will cause uncontrollable side effects if being used as drugs. Elucidating and designing defined GAG sequence that specifically interacts to certain protein will be the only plausible way to develop promising new GAG therapeutics.
Analytical Tools and Approaches for Characterization of GAG-Protein Interactions
Obviously, safe and effective therapeutic intervention for diseases associated with GAGs depends on the selection of appropriate structures with the desired characteristics and a lack of harmful effects. For example, when using heparin or related compounds to treat COVID-19, the candidate drugs must have the ability to hinder the ACE2/S-Protein interaction with few deleterious effects (e.g., the HIT caused by binding to PF4). This work can be greatly facilitated by analytical tools that provide detailed information on the interactions between candidate drugs and their therapeutic targets.
Currently, numerous analytical approaches have been developed and applied to reveal the molecular mechanism and binding sequence of GAG-protein complexes (Yang and Chi, 2017). Affinity approaches, such as affinity chromatography, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), are used to measure the binding strength between GAGs and proteins. NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography can present extremely valuable information about GAG-protein interactions, providing structural and conformational data that are useful in identifying the precise contact points between interacting molecules. The microarray platform and molecular docking are powerful tools to screen protein interactions against large GAG structure libraries, and intricate dynamic details of molecular-level events can be visualized with a relatively small time and cost investment. However, the structural heterogeneity of GAGs and the extensive glycosylation of the proteins involved still make discovery of the specificity of the binding sequence challenging.
MS techniques have several unique advantages in the characterization of GAG-protein complexes due to their superior sensitivity, tolerance of lower sample purity and ability to characterize amino acid/sugar residues and modification. Ion mobility spectroscopy (IMS) (
TABLE 2
| Method | Principle | Applications | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass spectrometry combined with gas-phase ion manipulation technique | Intact macromolecules or macromolecular complexes are directly ionized from non-denaturing solvent, and key noncovalent interactions that hold the complexes together can be preserved for MS analysis in the gas phase | Characterizing biomacromolecular structure and interactions under physiologicalconditions. For example, obtaining meaningful information about the complex formed by ACE2 and S protein, and the role of heparin in disrupting ACE2/RBD binding | Yang et al. (2020) |
| SEC-MS | When the SEC-MS system is applied to heparin, a series of oligomers with different sulfation levels can be generated | Enzymatic lysis was used to product the proteinbound chains, then mass spectrometry detection (SEC/MS) can detect the tight association with the protein, including the characterization, oligomer length and the number of incorporated sulfate and acetyl groups | |
| Cross-linking MS | Cross-linking with MS approach has been recently recognized as a powerful tool to study protein-protein interaction. It can also study GAG-protein interactions by “locking” binding motifs together through covalently cross-linking carboxyl groups of GAGs to amine side chains of protein | The cross-linking technique locks down the binding motifs of GAGs and proteins through covalent reactions. For example, the carboxyl groups of GAGs can be activated by EDC and sulfo-NHS, then form a zero-length linkage with the amine side chains of proteins. After digestion by protease, LC/MS/MS analysis showed that the binding motif was oligosaccharide peptide conjugate | Yugandhar et al. (2020) |
| Limited Proteolysis in the absence of denaturation, heparin-Affinity chromatography, and high-resolution LC-MS/MS proteomics (LPHAMS) | By using suboptimal conditions for proteolysis, limited cleavage occurs at exposed hinges or loops, resulting in the release of intact protein domains. Liberated domains by chromatography on heparin-affinity resin would identify potential HSBPs and enrich HS-binding domains | Identification and characterization of membrane-anchored and extracellular proteins that bind HS. Application of LPHAMS has led to the identification of large number of HSBPs. In many cases, this method reveals subdomains that promote HS binding |
The recent advances in mass spectrometry based analytical tools is summarized.
Another emerging field is developing computational tools to facilitate the study of GAG-protein interactions. Unlike proteins, GAGs are highly charged and highly flexible at the aspect of confirmation. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain high quality cocrystals of GAG-protein complexes. Computational approaches provided an alternative way to predict the binding patterns and residues contributed the binding. A systematic study has been carried out by computationally characterizing all known GAG-protein bindings from the Protein Data Bank, which proved the feasibility of the computational methodology (
Therapeutics Targeting Specific GAG-Protein Interactions
The eventual goal of studying interaction between GAGs and proteins is to develop novel therapeutics from this promising but inadequately explored field. The schematic strategy is shown in Figure 3. Actually, some therapeutics targeting specific GAG-protein interactions, including GAG oligosaccharides and synthetic analogs, removal or modification of GAGs by enzymes, exogenous heparin/HS or synthetic GAG mimetics as competitive inhibitors, cationic proteins and polymers as HS antagonists, and small molecule antagonists of heparin and HS, are currently being developed or have been applied to treat related diseases.
FIGURE 3

Schematic strategy of developing novel therapeutics based on the specific interaction between GAGs and proteins (A) Discovering GAG-protein binding. (B) Elucidating the molecular mechanism between the binding. (C) Synthesizing specific GAG oligosaccharides or analogs. (D) Evaluating the efficacy and toxicity in vitro and in vivo.
The application of heparin oligosaccharides and synthetic analogs is an important aspect of the clinical treatment of many diseases. HP and LMWH have long been used as anticoagulants (
Several different strategies to target the interactions of HS and proteins have been explored, including HS removal or modification by enzymes (
Another way to inhibit HS-protein interactions is to use exogenous heparin/HS or synthetic GAG analogs as competitive inhibitors. Exogenous addition of heparin and HS chains can inhibit infection of host cells with HS-binding pathogens, such as HSV, HPV, hepatitis B and various bacteria. Additionally, cancer cell growth and metastasis can be blocked by HS and heparin. LMWHs and HS mimetics (
Cationic proteins and foldamers have been used as antagonists of HS-protein interactions. These molecules depend on electrostatic interactions between their positively charged functional groups and the high anion sulfate and carboxylic acid groups of heparin and HS. Lactoferrin (
Certain small molecule drugs have been developed as HS-protein antagonists due to their specific characteristics and advantages. For example, a dispirotripiperazine derivative (DSTP 27) (
Conclusion and Marks
GAGs are involved in a large number of biological processes and play an important role in growth and development, maintaining homeostasis and resisting disease. GAGs affect cell adhesion, migration, signal transduction and other biological activities through interactions with proteins, such as growth factors and adhesion factors, thereby affecting numerous physiological activities. Due to the diversity of the types and functions of the proteins that interact with GAGs, GAGs exert a variety of biological functions. The occurrence and development of many diseases, from the invasion of pathogens to the occurrence and development of tumors, are related to GAGs. Elucidation of the specific sequence and mechanism by which GAGs interact with proteins is essential for finding novel therapeutics targeting specific GAG-protein interactions.
Insights and Future
The research, development and market of carbohydrate-based drugs, especially GAG-based drugs, are far behind the protein-based drugs. Except for heparin drugs as anticoagulants, few GAGs have been widely used in clinic, although GAGs exhibit a wide range of bioactivities. However, the situation is changing now. With the advances of analytical tools and synthetic/biosynthetic approaches, identifying specific sequence and obtaining sufficient structure uniform GAG oligosaccharides become feasible. In the next five to ten years, we can expect quite a few GAG or GAG mimetics proceed to clinical trials. It will boost the GAG study and lead to new solutions for diseases that are difficult to be cured by current small molecule or protein drugs.
Statements
Author contributions
All the authors contributed to this work and have approved it for publication.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21877072) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2019MB014).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Xiaojun Sun for proofreading the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
glycosaminoglycan, protein, human disease, interaction, molecular recognition
Citation
Shi D, Sheng A and Chi L (2021) Glycosaminoglycan-Protein Interactions and Their Roles in Human Disease. Front. Mol. Biosci. 8:639666. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.639666
Received
09 December 2020
Accepted
27 January 2021
Published
09 March 2021
Volume
8 - 2021
Edited by
Emil Alexov, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States
Reviewed by
Umesh R Desai, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States
Grzegorz Wegrzyn, University of Gdansk, Poland
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© 2021 Shi, Sheng and Chi.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Lianli Chi, lianlichi@sdu.edu.cn
This article was submitted to Molecular Recognition, a section of the journal Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
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