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Updated: Nov 29, 2025

In vivo Liver Endocytosis Followed by Purification of Liver Cells by Liver Perfusion
Published on: November 10, 2011
Potential Use of Anti-Inflammatory Synthetic Heparan Sulfate to Attenuate Liver Damage
Katelyn Arnold1, Yi-En Liao1, Jian Liu1
1Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Abstract:
Heparan sulfate is a highly sulfated polysaccharide abundant on the surface of hepatocytes and surrounding extracellular matrix. Emerging evidence demonstrates that heparan sulfate plays an important role in neutralizing the activities of proinflammatory damage associate molecular patterns (DAMPs) that are released from hepatocytes under pathological conditions. Unlike proteins and nucleic acids, isolation of homogenous heparan sulfate polysaccharides from biological sources is not possible, adding difficulty to study the functional role of heparan sulfate. Recent advancement in the development of a chemoenzymatic approach allows production of a large number of structurally defined oligosaccharides. These oligosaccharides are used to probe the physiological functions of heparan sulfate in liver damage under different pathological conditions. The findings provide a potential new therapeutic agent to treat liver diseases that are associated with excessive inflammation.
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