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Updated: May 2, 2026

Detection of Glycosaminoglycans by Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and Silver Staining
Published on: February 25, 2021
Demystifying heparan sulfate-protein interactions
1Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093; email: dxu@ucsd.edu , jesko@ucsd.edu.
Abstract:
Numerous proteins, including cytokines and chemokines, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, extracellular matrix proteins, and membrane receptors, bind heparin. Although they are traditionally classified as heparin-binding proteins, under normal physiological conditions these proteins actually interact with the heparan sulfate chains of one or more membrane or extracellular proteoglycans. Thus, they are more appropriately classified as heparan sulfate-binding proteins (HSBPs). This review provides an overview of the various modes of interaction between heparan sulfate and HSBPs, emphasizing biochemical and structural insights that improve our understanding of the many biological functions of heparan sulfate.
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