... compilation © 2010 Biochemical Society 2010 Alzheimer's disease heparin nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR spectroscopy) phosphorylation tau Deregulation of tau phosphorylation has been linked to the pathogenesis of AD (Alzheimer's disease). The aggregated tau in PHFs (paired...

...), a polysaccharide that is expressed on virtually every cell in the body and comprises 50–90% of total endothelial proteoglycans. Other classes of GAGs include heparin, which is produced almost exclusively by mast cells and has been exploited therapeutically as an anticoagulant, chondroitin sulphate and dermatan...

... effects depend on the resulting sequences. Some proteins, for example antithrombin, have highly specific sequence requirements for their GAG ligand [in this case heparin or HS (heparan sulphate)]; others, for example the fibroblast growth factors, are less demanding. GAGs, in particular HS, play a role...

... the presence of heparin increases the potency of HGF/SF in experiments with cells in culture leading to elevated downstream signalling effects and, although not vital for the Met–HGF/SF interaction, heparin or heparan sulphate is essential for the activity of certain isoforms of HGF/SF, such as NK1 and NK2...

..., and therefore have important roles in morphogenesis, organogenesis, tissue maintenance and wound healing. Thus far, around one-quarter of these cytokines have been shown to bind to heparin and heparan sulphate. Well-established examples are the TGF-β isoforms 1 and 2, and the BMPs (bone morphogenetic proteins...

... factor and receptor bind to HS, and HS or heparin is an absolute requirement for full signalling. The FGF signalling system has been extremely well structurally characterized, and details of each interaction involved in forming a ternary complex of FGF–FGFR–heparin have been elucidated. Recent work has...

...M. Forster; B. Mulloy The identification of heparin-binding sites is important for understanding the physiological function of many secreted proteins. Most of the experimental techniques for mapping these sites do not define them to atomic resolution. The use of automated docking methods can aid...

...-rich heparan sulphate within kidney progenitor tissues, and that this interaction is essential for its activity in kidney development. In support of this hypothesis we have shown in ELISA studies that GNDF binds to heparin and heparan sulphate. This binding is unusually sensitive to the chemical 2-O...

... of complement control protein domains (CCPs). Using homology-based computer modelling and mutagenesis of recombinant proteins we have localized binding sites for several ligands of C4BP: complement factor C4b, heparin and vitamin K-dependent anticoagulant protein S (PS). We found that C4b requires CCP1–3...