The Role of Glycosaminoglycans and Proteoglycans in Human Disease
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 916
Special Issue Editor
2. Drug Discovery and Development, Institute for Structural Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23219, USA
Interests: drug discovery; chemical biology; biological macromolecules; glycosaminoglycans; coagulation factors; cancer; viral infection; bio-mimetic design; enzyme mechanisms; computational biology; high throughput screening
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans (PGs) are arguably the most structurally complex and diverse naturally occurring molecules. Their structural diversity arises from their template-less, spatiotemporal biosynthesis, as well as the enzymatic fine tuning of their mature forms, which appear to play an essential role in their involvement in various diseases. GAGs and PGs have been implicated in thrombosis, cancer (tumor growth, metastasis, angiogenesis, cancer stem cell modulation), inflammation, atherosclerosis, wound healing, Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, and many others. In terms of discrete molecular processes, GAGs and PGs modulate a host of proteins such as growth factors, chemokines, serpins, coagulation factors, inflammation-related proteases, receptor tyrosine kinases, integrins, etc. Their fundamental mechanisms of modulation range from causing conformational change in the target protein and linking two proteins to facilitate interaction, to promoting translational motion at a molecular level. GAGs and PGs are present on cell surfaces as well as in the extracellular matrix and intracellular compartments. GAGs and PGs are also present on exosomes, which have been implicated in pathogenesis. Likewise, GAGs are also present in biological milieu, e.g., blood. Despite this wealth of knowledge, it is clear that we have revealed only the tip of the iceberg. Much remains to be understood at a fundamental level in order to impact patients at the clinic level. In this context, elucidating the role of GAGs and PGs in diseases is crucial. This Special Issue is dedicated to highlighting the myriad ways in which GAGs and PGs are implicated in nature. Special emphasis will be placed on the targets and mechanisms of GAGs and PGs, which will enable the translation of this research to the clinic.
Prof. Dr. Umesh Desai
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)
- proteoglycans (PGs)
- diseases
- mechanisms
- molecules
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