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Updated: Mar 22, 2026
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Detection of Glycosaminoglycans by Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis and Silver Staining
Published on: February 25, 2021
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Glycosaminoglycans and infection
Rafael S Aquino1, Pyong Woo Park2
1Division of Respiratory Diseases and 2Division of Newborn Medicine, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Frontiers in Bioscience (Landmark Edition)
|April 22, 2016
Summary
Microbes exploit glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), essential molecules in health and disease, for pathogen attachment, invasion, and immune evasion. This review details how pathogens subvert GAG functions during infection.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Immunology
Background:
- Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are crucial polysaccharides involved in numerous cellular processes, impacting both health and disease.
- Microbial pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi, strategically subvert GAGs as a common pathogenic mechanism.
- Pathogens leverage GAGs at entry points, for cell invasion, intercellular spread, and immune system evasion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a mechanistic overview of how microbes subvert GAGs during pathogenesis.
- To highlight select GAG-pathogen interactions as representative examples of microbial exploitation.
Main Methods:
- This review synthesizes current research on GAG-pathogen interactions.
- Mechanistic insights are drawn from studies examining pathogen attachment, invasion, and immune evasion strategies.
Main Results:
- Pathogens utilize GAGs for attachment and invasion of host cells.
- GAGs are co-opted by pathogens to facilitate cell-to-cell movement and evade immune responses.
- The evolutionary persistence of GAG-subversion mechanisms is attributed to their essential cellular roles.
Conclusions:
- Microbial pathogens have evolved sophisticated strategies to exploit the fundamental functions of GAGs for successful infection.
- Understanding these GAG-pathogen interactions is key to developing novel therapeutic interventions against infectious diseases.
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