Heparan sulfate (HS) is a class of sulfated GAGs composed of repeating disaccharide units (GlcUA/IdoUAβ/α1-4GlcNAc) linked by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds. In biosynthesis, HS covalently combines with core proteins to form HS proteoglycans (HSPGs), which are widely expressed on the cell surface and in extracellular matrix; in HS chain, GlcUA can be epimerized into IdoUA, and under the action of a variety of sulfate transferases, the N, C6 and C3 positions of GlcNAc and the C2 position of GlcUA can be sulfated to form HS with highly complex structure. Compared with heparin (Hep), the structure of HS is more complex, specifically characterized by more diverse sulfation patterns, lower IdoA content, and longer chains. The HS polysaccharide chain can be roughly divided into three parts: the NA domain, which has not undergone sulfation modification; the NS domain, in which the GlcNAc residues have been deacetylated and N-sulfated; the mixed NA/NS domain, which is the domain in HS where many sulfation modifications and epimerization modifications occur. HS participates in various physiological and pathological processes such as growth and development and disease occurrence through interactions with growth factors, cytokines, matrix proteins, etc.

Products