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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Using a GFP-tagged TMEM184A Construct for Confirmation of Heparin Receptor Identity
Published on: February 17, 2017
Heparan sulfate C5-epimerase is essential for heparin biosynthesis in mast cells
Thorsten B Feyerabend1, Jin-Ping Li, Ulf Lindahl
1Department of Immunology, University of Ulm, D-89070 Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
Biosynthesis of heparin, a mast cell-derived glycosaminoglycan with widespread importance in medicine, has not been fully elucidated. In biosynthesis of heparan sulfate (HS), a structurally related polysaccharide, HS glucuronyl C5-epimerase (Hsepi) converts D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) to L-iduronic acid (IdoA) residues. We have generated Hsepi-null mouse mutant mast cells, and we show that the same enzyme catalyzes the generation of IdoA in heparin and that 'heparin' lacking IdoA shows a distorted O-sulfation pattern.
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