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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Extraction and Quantification of Soluble, Radiolabeled Inositol Polyphosphates from Different Plant Species using SAX-HPLC
Published on: June 26, 2020
The biological activity of structurally defined inositol glycans
Meenakshi Goel1, Viatcheslav N Azev, Marc d'Alarcao
1Department of Chemistry, San José State University, One Washington Square, San José, CA 95192-90101, USA.
None:
BACKGROUND: The inositol glycans (IGs) are glycolipid-derived carbohydrates produced by insulin-sensitive cells in response to insulin treatment. IGs exhibit an array of insulin-like activities including stimulation of lipogenesis, glucose transport and glycogen synthesis, suggesting that they may be involved in insulin signal transduction. However, because the natural IGs are structurally heterogeneous and difficult to purify to homogeneity, an understanding of the relationship between structure and biological activity has relied principally on synthetic IGs of defined structure. DISCUSSION: This article briefly describes what is known about the role of IGs in signal transduction and reviews the specific biological activities of the structurally defined IGs synthesized and tested to date. CONCLUSION: A pharmacophore for IG activity begins to emerge from the reviewed data and the structural elements necessary for activity are summarized.
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