Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 29, 2026
10:17
Analysis of Fucosylated Human Milk Trisaccharides in Biotechnological Context Using Genetically Encoded Biosensors
Published on: April 13, 2019
6.9K
Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOS): Structure, Function, and Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
Advances in Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry
|November 29, 2015
Summary
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are vital for infant health, acting as prebiotics and immune modulators. Advances in synthesis now allow for larger quantities, enabling deeper research into their specific roles and applications.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Nutritional Science
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are crucial bioactive components in human milk.
- Over 100 HMO structures are known, with recognized roles as prebiotics, antimicrobials, and immunomodulators.
- Understanding individual HMO functions is limited by poor accessibility to pure compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To survey current progress in HMO structures, functions, and synthesis.
- To highlight the impact of new production methods on HMO research.
- To explore potential applications of individual and mixed HMOs.
Main Methods:
- Review of enzymatic, chemoenzymatic, whole-cell, and living-cell synthesis systems for HMOs.
- Elucidation of HMO structures and their associated biological functions.
- Survey of enzyme-catalyzed synthesis pathways for HMOs.
Main Results:
- Significant progress in elucidating HMO structures and functions.
- Development of advanced biotechnological systems for increased HMO production.
- Enabling of research into specific roles and applications of diverse HMOs.
Conclusions:
- Advances in HMO synthesis are crucial for understanding their health benefits.
- Future research should focus on complex and branched HMO structures.
- Development of HMO-based therapeutics and prebiotics is a promising avenue.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Oligosaccharide Assembly
3.8K
Protein glycosylation starts in the ER lumen and continues in the Golgi apparatus. Glycosyltransferases catalyze the addition of sugar molecules or glycosylation of proteins. Usually, these enzymes add sugars to the hydroxyl groups of selected serine or threonine residues to form O-linked glycans or the amino groups of asparagine residues to form N-linked glycans. Different positions on the same polypeptide chain can contain differently linked glycans.
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
3.8K
01:26Biosynthesis of Polysaccharides
887
Polysaccharides such as glycogen and starch are synthesized from nucleoside diphosphate sugars, primarily uridine diphosphate glucose (UDPG) and adenosine diphosphate glucose (ADPG). These activated glucose donors act as key intermediates in carbohydrate metabolism and biosynthesis. UDPG primarily involves glycogen synthesis in animals and many bacteria, while ADPG plays a fundamental role in starch synthesis in plants and certain bacteria.UDPG is formed when glucose-1-phosphate reacts with...
887
01:25Protein Glycosylation
10.4K
Glycosylation, the most common post-translational modification for proteins, serves diverse functions. Adding sugars to proteins makes the proteins more resistant to proteolytic digestion. Glycosylated proteins can act as markers and receptors to promote cell-cell adhesion. Additionally, they have many essential quality control functions in the cell, such as correct protein folding and facilitating transport of misfolded proteins to the cytosol, which can be degraded.
Glycosylation occurs in...
Glycosylation occurs in...
10.4K
01:15Hydrolysis
124.6K
Overview
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
124.6K
01:05Proteoglycans
5.2K
Glycans, a class of complex heterogeneous molecules, can be covalently attached to proteins to form glycosylated proteins that regulate various physiological and pathological processes. Glycosylated proteins or glycoproteins comprise N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides. O-glycosylation is the most common type of protein glycosylation. Here, glycans attach to the oxygen atom of the hydroxyl groups of Serine or Threonine residues. O-linked glycosylation occurs later in protein processing,...
5.2K
01:34Introduction to Carbohydrates
23.9K
Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are the primary macronutrients in the human diet. However, carbohydrates are the most favored source of energy in the body. They can be found in a wide variety of foods, including whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, in various forms, such as sugars, starch, and dietary fiber. Based on their structure, carbohydrates are classified into three main classes— monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. The body's cells can only utilize simple...
23.9K