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VOLUME 1
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ISBN 978-0-12-819475-1
FRONT COVER IMAGES: (Upper Left) Cartoon of a positively charged glycopolymer-coated nanoparticle (thanks to Diana Diaz-Dussan
for help with this image). (Lower Left) 3D structure (PDB 4N3C) of a truncated form of O-GlcNAc transferase (OCT4.5 derived from
Chapter 3.06 by Jiang). (Upper Right) Conformational free energy landscape of pyranosyl oxocarbenium ions, depicting global and local
minima; from Chapter 2.03 by Codée. (Lower Right) Logos from various glycan informatic websites that have been curated or expanded
since the first edition. The figure shows them radiating from Earth, indicating the multi-national aspect of the sites that now connect
scientists of all disciplines from around the globe. (Center) Structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein ectodomain derived from extended
molecular dynamics simulations, including purported glycans from all included glycosylation sites. The snapshot is an overhead view of
the protein with the viral membrane as the background; the lipids in the bilayer are rendered in gray van der Waals spheres; the editors
thanks Elisa Fadda, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, for this figure.
EDITOR BIOGRAPHIES
Editor-in-Chief
Joe Barchi received his PhD in synthetic/marine natural products chemistry from
the University of Hawaii and was a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University.
He then joined the National Cancer Institute as a staff fellow in the Laboratory
of Medicinal Chemistry in 1988 where he rose to his current position of senior
scientist/principal investigator and NMR facility head at the newly formed Chem-
ical Biology Laboratory. His main research interests are in synthetic medicinal
chemistry as it relates to carbohydrate-based drug design, the development of
novel sugar-conjugated nanoparticles, and the high-resolution structural analysis
of sugars, glycopeptides, and small molecule drug candidates by NMR spectros-
copy. Dr Barchi’s career at the NCI has spanned a wide breadth of drug discovery
efforts, including the synthesis of PKC and reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the
development of glycopeptide antigens as vaccine candidates against HIV and
cancer, as well as the discovery of several glycopeptide analogues of antiprolifera-
tive factor (APF), a negative growth factor isolated from patients with interstitial
cystitis. Current focus in the lab is the discovery of novel nanoplatforms for the delivery and therapeutic
applications of immunogenic glycopeptides, the search for selective antitumor agents based on APF, and the
conformational analysis of these synthetic analogues by NMR spectroscopy to guide further discovery efforts. He is
on the editorial board of PlosOne, Current Cancer Drug Targets (Bentham Science Publishers) and Carbohydra-
teResearch (Elsevier). He has edited books and journal issues on topics such as Glyconanotechnology and Drug
Discovery.
Volume Editors
v
vi Editor Biographies
vii
viii List of Contributors for Volume 1
While it is always difficult to categorize a period in history as defined by a unique area of study, the first two
decades of the 21st century can truly be considered a groundbreaking era in Glycoscience. Many researchers,
societies, and governments around the globe have contributed to this, but I will bias this paragraph by listing
three major initiatives in my home country, the United States, that have greatly contributed to this progress:
(1) a “glue grant” from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health
that led to the formation of the Consortium for Functional Glycomics; (2) a report by the National Research
Council of the National Academy of Sciences entitled “Transforming Glycoscience: A Roadmap for the Future”
that outlined a plan as to where Glycoscience should be in 10–15 years; and (3) the funding of seminal research
to achieve some of these goals by the NIH Common Fund, where grants were awarded to teams of scientists to
advance three seminal areas: (a) Facile Glycan Synthesis; (b) Tool Development for analysis, tracking, and
manipulation of glycans; and (c) data integration and bioinformatics tools to annotate and search all known
glycomes across gene, protein, and lipid data. The timelines for many of these initiatives are expiring, and thus
the timing of this second edition of Comprehensive Glycoscience could not be more appropriate. Although these
programs have reached their natural end, work in this field is continuing at a fevered pitch. These initiatives—as
well as the many unmentioned ones from other countries around the world—have both ramped up excitement
in traditional glycoscientists and ignited interest in those uninitiated to redirect their focus on more
glycan-related chemistry and biology projects.
This second edition of Comprehensive Glycoscience follows a similar pattern as one that shaped the first edition
in 2007, with a few logistical changes. The first edition was comprised of 4 volumes which dealt with
introductory material (nomenclature, glycan composition of various organisms, carbohydrate analysis tech-
niques), glycan synthesis, glycan biochemistry and carbohydrate interactions and glycans in disease. Since the
field has made major strides in the past 14 years, many of the original authors were asked to update their
chapters, while many new researchers were asked to contribute. This second edition has expanded to 5 volumes,
all with very focused content. Volume 1 sees some of the introductory material deleted, while focusing on new
advances in glycomics and carbohydrate analysis in 21 chapters. The 24 chapters of Volume 2 are dedicated
entirely to synthesis: Basic and modern glycosylation methods, protecting groups, synthesis of various sugar
types such as sialic acids and furanoses and several articles on the newly minted use of automation in
carbohydrate synthesis. Volume 3 is outlined similar to the first edition, with 22 chapters where subjects of
high research interest in the intervening years have been included, such as O-GlcNAc chemical biology,
metabolic engineering of glycans, and zwitterionic polysaccharides. Volume 4 is a new volume, with its
22 chapters dedicated to glycan materials, nanoparticles, and arrays. Very little of this subject material was
covered in the first edition, and it was decided to dedicate an entire volume to the subject, where much of this
research was in its infancy in 2006–07. Chapters on polymeric and metallic nanomaterials, glycopolymers
themselves and their applications, various array formats that have been developed, glyconanomaterials in
biosensing, and applications of these constructions to treating diseases are presented. Volume 5 is comprised
of 31 chapters on the functions of glycans in disease, with highlights on bacterial infections, neurological
disorders, IgG glycosylation, and immune effector functions along with two articles that describe the use of
human milk oligosaccharides in therapeutic applications.
The goal of this edition was not to simply update the first edition but to focus on the phenomenal
achievements that have advanced Glycoscience since the initial printing. While there are a similar number of
chapters, the content is more targeted to these advancements and to hopefully inspire the next generation of
glycoscientists. Thus, although there is a teaching element to this second edition, it is more geared toward the
xi
xii Preface
advanced undergraduate or graduate student who may be involved in a “glyco”-related science or has the
background to understand the concepts and who may be drawn into this highly intriguing and still somewhat
fledging field. The established professor or investigator should find this series a welcome addition to their
collection and will beautifully complement other treatises in glycoscience. The content, along with the
comprehensive list of references, should ground virtually any researcher with a foundation to explore and
expand this exciting area.
Lastly, it should be noted that the bulk of this edition has been assembled in the middle of once-in-100-years
pandemic. COVID-19 has affected all our lives in mostly detrimental ways, and it is a true testament to the
publisher, the editors, and the authors of the 120 chapters who all have fought through unprecedented adversity
to see this project to completion. I owe all involved a debt of gratitude that a project of this scope could be
completed under these unusual circumstances.
1.01 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What's to Come 1
Joseph J Barchi Jr
1.05 Common Cellular Glycans: Biosynthesis, Modifications and Functions in Cancer and
Inflammation 142
Petra Larsen and Marya Ahmed
1.14 General NMR Spectroscopy of Carbohydrates and Conformational Analysis in Solution 340
Göran Widmalm
1.16 Understanding the Structure and Function of Viral Glycosylation by Molecular Simulations:
State-of-the-Art and Recent Case Studies 405
Elisa Fadda
xiii
xiv Contents of Volume 1
1.20 Glycans of the Pathogenic Yeast Cryptococcus neoformans and Related Opportunities
for Therapeutic Advances 479
Liza C Loza and Tamara L Doering
The following material is reproduced with kind permission of Oxford University press
Figure 2 of Glycan-based Materials in Cancer and Inflammation
Table 1 of Glycan-based Materials in Cancer and Inflammation
www.oup.com
The following material is reproduced with kind permission of Nature Publishing Group
Figure 29 of Surface Immobilized Glycopolymers
Figure 11 of Controls on Element Partitioning Behavior
Figure 5 of Overview of Cellulose Types
Figure 19 of Molecular and Mechanistic Basis of Lectin-glycan Interactions
Figure 45 of Molecular and Mechanistic Basis of Lectin-glycan Interactions
Figure 46 of Molecular and Mechanistic Basis of Lectin-glycan Interactions
Figure 53 of Molecular and Mechanistic Basis of Lectin-glycan Interactions
Figure 6 of Overview of Cellulose Types and Applications
Figure 11 of Capillary Electrophoresis
Figure 8 of Glycan-based Materials in Cancer and Inflammation
http://www.nature.com
i
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1.01 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and
What’s to Come
Joseph J Barchi Jr, Head, Glycoconjugate and NMR Section, Chemical Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD,
United States
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1.01.1 Introduction 1
1.01.1.1 Brief history of glycoscience 2
1.01.1.2 What are carbohydrates/glycans and what do they look like? 2
1.01.2 Analysis of glycans 9
1.01.2.1 High pH anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) and pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) 9
1.01.2.2 Capillary electrophoresis (CE) 9
1.01.2.3 Mass spectrometry 9
1.01.2.4 NMR spectroscopy and molecular simulations 10
1.01.3 Glycan synthesis 11
1.01.4 Cellular glycan functions 12
1.01.4.1 Glycan binding proteins 12
1.01.4.2 Glycans in disease 14
1.01.5 Summary and perspective 15
Appendix 16
References 16
1.01.1 Introduction
Although scientific studies of sugars date back hundreds of years, one could posit that the past three decades constitutes what could
be considered the “new era” of Glycoscience, where appreciation of the relevance of cellular carbohydrates is now indelibly stamped
in the mindset of both physical and life scientists. In fact, a search of the literature reveals that the word “Glycoscience” has only
been coined within those last 30 years with the first instance of the term coming (arguably) around 1994.1 The biology and
chemistry of carbohydrates had traditionally been relegated to a few select and highly specialized research groups that were bold
enough to tackle the complexities of this family of biomolecules. And complex they are: Oligo- and polysaccharides encompass
more “information density” than the other essential cellular information stores of nucleic acids, proteins and lipids.2–5 The
challenges with the analysis, structure, synthesis and biochemistry of cellular carbohydrates is aptly summarized in the forward
to an issue of Chemical Reviews, published in 2000. In it, James K. Bashkin writes6:
“I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who was asked if he knew that “sugar” was the only word in the English language where “su” was pronounced
“sh”. He replied, “Sure”. Sugars remain ubiquitous yet enigmatic, combining the simple with the complex. Carbohydrates are everywhere, from bulk
sucrose in the kitchen to cross-linked peptidoglycans that comprise cell walls, from microdiverse, posttranscriptionally modified cell-surface receptors to
the paper that this issue is printed on. Carbohydrates have often been relegated to the sidelines of chemistry, one example being the complete omission
of essential and challenging sugar portions from many papers on “natural product synthesis.” One can almost hear the collective sigh, “Difficult
chemistry, difficult biology, difficult analysis, I don’t want to see another protecting group, let’s leave the sugar off.”
It seemed that many in the research community thought that sugars just “gum up the works” and studying them made one’s life
difficult. In the early days of protein isolation and purification, sugars were enzymatically stripped off to insure better purity and
ease of handling. When recombinant expression of proteins came of age, the bacteria used for production, primarily E. coli, lacked
glycosylation machinery and hence proteins were produced without any covalent attachment of any post-translational oligosac-
charide chains. This certainly did not upset those working with these proteins, as it made purification and analysis much simpler.
Little did they understand the importance of many of these oligosaccharide chains that, had they been present, could not only
modulate, but actually dictate the function of that particular macromolecule. The research community has come to realize the
overarching importance of cellular glycosylation and today the field of Glycoscience has taken its rightful place among other
scientific disciplines that for years had overshadowed the relevance of cellular and naturally occurring mono-, di-, oligo- and
polysaccharides. There is a fevered interest in most all areas of glycosciences today, including, but not limited to: (1) Glycomics,7,8
the analysis of the full repertoire of the glycans of a particular cell type, which necessitated the development of the new field of
“Glycoinformatics”9,10; (2) glycan synthesis, both chemical and enzymatic, to allow access to all types of both eukaryotic and
prokaryotic saccharides that are known or will be through developments in area #1, (3) technology development, such as the design
and development of glycan/lectin arrays and spectroscopic techniques for glycan analysis and (4) advancement of glycan engineer-
ing techniques for both medical and biotechnology-related applications.
Fig. 1 Rise in the publications with the word “Glycoscience” (A) and “Glycan” (B). The graph in B extends back to 1894 since the search engine in Scopus
evidently equates the word “polysaccharide” with “Glycan”. The word glycan does not actually enter the scientific literature lexicon until about 1943.
Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come 3
Table 1 A few of the early discoveries in carbohydrate/Glycoscience that set the stage for the vibrant field it is today.
Andreas Sigismund Marggraf (Germany) Discovered sucrose from sugar beets; Glucose from raisins 1747
Jean Baptiste André Dumas (France) Coined the term “glucose” (from the Greek for sweet) 1834
Jacobus Henrikus van’t Hoff (Netherlands) Proposed the concept of the tetrahedral carbon 1874
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1901 Chirality, stereochemistry
Joseph Achille Le Bel (France)
Bernhard Tollens (Germany) Recognized the cyclic hemiacetal form of carbohydrates 1883
Emil Fischer (Germany) Determined the molecular structure and stereochemistry of glucose, and other sugars 1891
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1902
Sir Walter Norman Haworth (United Kingdom) Structure and synthesis of ascorbic acid; novel way of drawing carbohydrate cyclic forms 1933
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1937
Carl Cori and Gerty Cori (USA) Metabolism of glucose; Determined how the body produces and stores energy 1920’s, 1930’s
Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine 1947
Luis Leloir (France) Discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates 1949
Nobel in Chemistry 1970 (Prize in 1970)
Morgan and Watkins Discovery that ABO blood group antigens are sugars 1969
Fig. 2 Glucose as represented by a Fischer projection, Haworth projection and in three-dimensional forms that are primarily shown in the literature. The pyranose
form is a 6-membered ring whereas the furanose ring is 5-membered.
as they involve squashing a dimensional molecule onto a two-dimensional page. Most textbooks will initially use a Fischer
projection to differentiate between “D” and “L” sugars. Looking at the Fischer projection, the stereogenic carbon atom furthest
from the carbonyl carbon traditionally defined “D” glucose as the molecule with this hydroxy group to the right (Fig. 2, blue square)
and “L” with the hydroxyl pointing to the left. It should be noted that this now somewhat archaic description was based on the
arbitrary glyceraldehyde stereochemistry assigned by Rosanoff and this nomenclature was later referred to as the Fischer-Rosanoff
convention.21 Since “D” and “L” glucose (and any other D and L pair for that matter) are enantiomers, all the stereocenters need to be
reversed to produce “L” glucose, not simply C-5.
If one rotates the molecule 90 degrees to the right and curls the carbon chain to allow proximity of the 5th hydroxyl (counting
from the carbonyl carbon) to the aldehyde, it becomes evident how the hemiacetal carbon can be formed. This yields the Haworth
4 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
projection in the yellow box. Sugars are often depicted in the literature in this form, although the three-dimensional representation
shown in the lower half of Fig. 2 is more akin to a true Organic Chemistry structure where the stereochemistry of the carbon atoms
can easily be seen. The stereochemistry of the hemiacetal hydroxyl group can be either up (beta) or down (alpha) in what is referred
to as a “reducing sugar.” This designation comes from the fact that the aldehyde can act as a “reducing agent” toward entities such
as metals; this property is the basis for the Tollens test, where silver salts are reduced to elemental silver with simultaneous oxidation
of the reducing sugar aldehyde to a carboxylic acid.22–24
As mentioned above, carbohydrates are found on all cells from both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. The sets of
carbohydrate structures that are biosynthesized and presented on cell surfaces between different species can differ dramatically.
Thus, the aforementioned complexities of sugars structures compared with nucleic acids and peptides comes from the following
facts: (1) there are actually 100s and predicted to be 1000s of structurally unique monomeric sugars that span all organisms from
bacteria to humans as opposed to 5 bases that comprise DNA and RNA and 21 natural amino acids that form most proteins; (2) the
anomeric center can exist in two epimeric forms; (3) all sugars have more than one functional group that can be modified/
conjugated. This makes the diversity of carbohydrate structures infinitely more complex than the simple connections that are made
between two amino acids to form peptides or two DNA/RNA base pairs to form a dinucleotide. Glucose is an example of
a monosaccharide, i.e., “one sugar unit.” This can be extended to di-, tri-, tetra- and what are considered “oligo”-saccharides
which constitute up to 10–20 monosaccharide units. Beyond that, these coupled chains are can now be considered
“poly”-saccharides (for example, cellulose and chrysolaminarin, are polymers of glucose, and are arguably the most abundant
materials on earth).25 Consider that a simple glucose monosaccharide contains five hydroxyl groups in five chiral centers, and
a choice of either an alpha or beta anomeric center. If you had 20 pyranose glycan units similar to glucose, and compared the
combinatorial number of hexamers that could be constructed compared to those from 4 nucleotides (46 ¼ 4096) or 20 natural
amino acids (206 ¼ 64,000,000), a total of 192,780,943, 360 hexasaccharides are possible.5 The information content in carbohy-
drate monomers and oligomers is truly vast and as yet, not fully appreciated (vide infra).
Descriptions of glycans from all species is beyond the scope of this article, thus, groups of various saccharides that are more
common in mammalian, plant and bacterial systems will be briefly discussed. It is generally recognized that there are 10 (the
number may be 11 or 12) basic mammalian sugar building blocks that are used to assemble the various cellular glycans that have
thus far been determined.4 These are shown in Fig. 3 with their standard abbreviations. The six-membered pyranoses are thought to
exist in a typical chair conformation that was learned from cyclohexane structures. In sugars, there is a notation that describes the
spatial relationship of atoms in a particular form. As shown in the figure, a “4C1” chair has Carbon-4 puckered “up” out of the
central plane that would bisect each bond, and the C-1 atom flexed “down.” Alternatively, a “1C4” pucker (fucose) has those atoms
Fig. 3 The 10 most common mammalian monosaccharides used to construct various cellular glycans and their abbreviations in parentheses. Numbering and
puckered forms are in colored numbers and circles.
Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come 5
flipped between up and down. As opposed to all other in the diagram, fucose is the only L-sugar. Sometimes one may see the
notation written “4C1” since that more accurately shows where the atoms are in space. N-Acetylneuraminic acid, more commonly
known as sialic acid, is a 9-carbon sugar acid were the carboxylate group is pointed “up” while the pyranose is in a “2C5” pucker,
since the numbering of this 9-carbon sugar starts at the carboxyl carbon (see bottom of Fig. 3).
These monosaccharides make up most of the glycans that are displayed on the surface (or now, within) a mammalian cell.
Cell-surface glycans are presented in a variety of forms, each with their own structural idiosyncrasies and dispositions. One of the
best depictions of this is from the introductory sections of “Essentials of Glycobiology” thus there is no need to reinvent this figure.
This schematic of the cell surface glycocalyx, as it is often called, is adapted and modified in Fig. 4 for this article. It shows in generic
form, the various structures that would be found, for example, on one of the cells of human tissue. Either the initial (reducing end)
sugar or the entire structure of each entity is illustrated for each type of glycan and arrows point to either the macromolecule, lipid or
polymer whose context that structure is associated. A listing of how these structures are arranged are as follows, and the chapters that
discuss the various roles these modifications play in biological function or disease in this series are shown in parentheses:
1. N-Linked glycans: Attached to asparagine in specific amino acid triplet motifs of Asn-Ser/Thr-X, where X ¼ any amino acid
except proline. b-Amide-linked anomeric center to a chitobiose unit (i.e., -GlcNAcb1,4-GlcNAcb-N-CO-CH2-amino acid)26 (Gu,
Chapter 5.25)
2. Glycolipids: Glycans from mono- to oligosaccharides attached to a lipid, can be a glycerol, sphingosine or ceramide unit.
Most contain a reducing end b-glucose, some with b-galactose. Can have varied composition of sugars based on cell and species
of origin.27 (Schnaar, Chapter 3.05, Savage, Chapter 3.22)
3. O-Linked mucin-type glycosylation: Glycans attached to either serine or threonine on cell-surface mucins through an initial
a-Galactosamine monomer; glycans can be anywhere from 2–12 monosaccharides, When “O-linked” saccharides are discussed,
it usually refers to this type of protein glycosylation. (Brockhausen, Chapter 3.10, and Ramirez, Chapter 1.10)
4. O-GlcNAc modification: Discovered about 30 years ago. widespread modification of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins.
Molecular “switch” similar to phosphorylation but only one transferase and hydrolase known for attaching and releasing
the modification. (Hart, Chapter 5.08; Zachara, Chapter 3.13 and Jiang, Chapter 3.06)
5. C-Mannosyl tryptophan: Thought to be a unique protein modification and the only natural carbon-linked glycan known where
an a-mannose attaches to the indole C2 carbon atom of a tryptophan amino acid. Usually attached at a consensus sequence W-x-
x-W.28 (Ihara, Chapter 1.06)
6. Glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI anchor): Complex lipid/inositol glycan that anchors various proteins to cell membranes.
A phosphatidylinositol lipid embeds in the membrane with core glycans that comprise one glucosamine and three mannoses;
the terminal non-reducing end mannose contains an O6-linked phosphoethanolamine, which is amide-bonded to the carboxyl
terminus of a protein. Common form of cellular protein attachment in Protozoa. (Fujita, Chapter 3.04 and Murakami,
Chapter 5.21)
7. O-Fucosylation (O-glucose, O-mannose): Discovered around 1993, O-fucose and fucosylated glycans are a-linked to serine and
threonine residues and found on Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) repeats on several proteins and occurs in a putative consensus
sequence (CXXGG(S/T)C, where S/T is the modified residue. These along with O-glucose and O-mannose have been found on
thrombospondin-type repeat protein motifs. O-Mannose is found highly concentrated in brain glycoproteins. (Haltiwanger,
Chapter 1.07)
8. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs): Charged, sulfated, long linear polysaccharide chains primarily attached to proteins. Chondroitin
sulfate, dermatan sulfate, keratan sulfate and heparan sulfate are typical GAGs. Attached to proteins through a serine hydroxyl
with a consensus Ser-Gly/Ala-X-Gly motif in the core protein. A tetrasaccharide linker, -GlcAb1,3Galb1,3Galb1,4Xylb1-O-(Ser)-
begins the construction of the linear polysaccharide. The polysaccharides are built from disaccharide repeats that usually consist
of a sugar acid and an amino sugar. Proteins heavily glycosylated with GAGs are referred to as Proteoglycans. (Ramirez,
Chapter 3.03; Kitagawa, Chapter 3.02 and Liu, Chapter 2.24)
9. Hyaluronic acid (Hyaluronan): A GAG that is biosynthesized but immediately secreted into the intercellular space, thus not
formally a surface modification, and not covalently attached to proteoglycans. It is a component of the extracellular matrix.
(Kitagawa, Chapter 3.02)
Many of these glycans, especially N- and O-linked glycans, are structurally complex, where linear chains are built of many different
monosaccharides, and branching and “capping” (vide infra) are common where additional multi-antennae arrangements are
possible. Often, a single glycosylation site will be dynamically occupied by different oligosaccharides that may differ by one or
more monosaccharides. These different glycans at one site are called “glycoforms,”29,30 and it is obvious how this adds to the almost
overwhelming complexity of cellular glycosylation. The presence of various glycoforms results from the differential expression of
glycosyltransferases (enzymes that couple one sugar to another) and glycoside hydrolases (enzymes that cleave a sugar from
a oligosaccharide) that can arise in a tissue-, organ-, temporal- or spatial-specific manner. The presence of glycoforms is one of the
many ways to rationalize the “underwhelming” result of mapping the human genome. It surprised everyone when it was discovered
that we only harbor 21,000 protein-encoding genes, where the thought was closer to 100,000 in early estimates.31 However, the
one-gene/one-protein model is a gross oversimplification; alternative splicing can generate many proteins from a single gene and
post-translational modifications (phosphorylation, farnesylation, acylation, alkylation, sulfation and glycosylation, just to name
a few) can impart “fine-tuning” of functions to a single protein. These and many other changes that take place during development
can lead to a complex organism from a relatively small number of coding sequences.
6
Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
Fig. 4 A schematic of the various glycan forms that are primarily displayed on a mammalian cell surface along with nuclear/cytoplasmic O-GlcNAc, as adapted from “Essentials of Glycobiology”, third edition, Chapter 1,
Fig. 1.6. The carbohydrate structures that begin a particular glycan are shown for mucin type O-linked glycosylation (upper left, a-D-Galactosamine), N-linked glycosylation (chitobiose structure) and glycolipids (b-glucose
attached to a ceramide lipid). Also depicted is the disaccharide repeating unit of hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan, -GlcAb1,4GlcNAc-), glycosaminoglycan; b-O-GlcNAc, a prominent modification to nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins;
an entire structure of a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI anchor), a complex, charged glycolipid that is an important connector between the cell membrane and various cell-surface proteins and the sole C-linked glycan modification,
C-mannosyl tryptophan, that is found in motifs containing the WxxW tetrapeptide stretch in proteins. Originally modified and updated from Varki, A. FASEB J. 1997, 11: 248–255; Fuster, M; Esko, J.D. Nat. Rev. Cancer 2005, 7,
526–542, originally with permission from Macmillan; and Stanley P. Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Biol. 2011, 3, a005199.
Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come 7
Without explicitly depicting the many glycan variants, on perusing Fig. 4, the reader can imagine how complicated the cell
surface can be with the presence of 1000s of proteins each with their own glycosylation network. In addition, since the cell is
utilizing a vast amount of energy to assemble these complex structures, it follows that there must be some highly relevant functions
that these modifications impart to proteins and lipids (vide infra).
Whereas these structures make up the majority of the glycans in many eukaryotic glycomes, various database and bioinformatic
analyzes of bacterial glycomes suggest that there are over 700 different monosaccharides that are used to biosynthesize the
incredibly diverse array of glycans in bacteria species.32 In fact, a variety of unusual sugar structures come from organisms other
than humans and other mammals. Many of these structures are not six-carbon hexoses, but glycosides made up of different
numbers of carbon atoms from pentoses (5-carbon) to nonoses (9-carbon) and even longer. As the complexity of the glycan
repertoire grew, the early full chemical drawing depictions of sugars was thought to have become somewhat unwieldy. As early
as 1978, Kornfeld proposed a simplified presentation of the various sugar structures based on geometrical shapes, thought to be
a purposeful substitute for full stereochemical drawings. Future incarnations of this new mode of glycans representation matured
to what is now known as the Symbol Nomenclature for Glycans (SNFG).33 This code is evident in Fig. 4 with a small legend at the
bottom left. Many papers in the Glycoscience field will use this notation, as it has been used throughout this 2nd edition of
Comprehensive Glycoscience. Fig. A.1 that shows the latest listing of symbols to represent a large array of glycans is shown in the
Appendix section.
Bacteria, fungi and plants contain a rich array of glycans with monomer structures that vary from those in higher organisms.
Some of the more relevant monosaccharides are higher carbon (8- and 9-carbon) sugars. One of these structures, 3-deoxy-D-
manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo), is a component of the lipopolysaccharide portion of the outer surface of gram-negative bacteria.34
This extended covalent unit of lipids and sugars is referred to as endotoxin, and Kdo is attached to a portion called Lipid A. Lipid A is
released from the bacterium after infection or lysis in serum and is a powerful biological response modifier, and this glycosylated
assembly has been one of the more intensely studied portions of the bacterial cell membrane. This complicated glycolipid is a signal
to turn on aspects of the immune system that cause inflammation and other symptoms of a bacterial infection. Further study
revealed that Kdo is thought to be important for bacterial cell viability and survival. A schematic of the composition of the inner and
outer membrane structures from gram-negative bacteria are shown in Fig. 5.35 Examination of panels A, B and C shows increasing
detail as to the structure of LPS and its toxic component, Lipid A. Glycoscientists have learned an enormous amount about
saccharide biosynthesis, assembly and function through work on bacteria. As stated, there are a plethora of unusual sugars presented
in bacteria, and thoughts about their evolution and function have spurred additional work where for example, new synthetic and
analysis techniques have been developed. The reader is referred to excellent chapters by Brockhausen (Chapter 3.07), Molinaro
(Chapter 5.13), and Knirel (Chapter 1.02) for details of the structure and virulence of bacterial saccharides.
Bacteria have evolved to produce a variety of different glycans with modifications such as deoxygenation of different hydroxyl
groups, hydroxyl-to-amine substitutions, many L-sugars and stereochemically unique arrangements of functional groups.
Fig. 5 (A) Schematic depiction of the outer and inner membrane of gram negative bacteria; (B) an expansion of the features of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) portion
of the outer membrane in a molecular schematic form, and (C) a further expansion of the lipid A portion of LPS in pictorial form (top), molecular schematic (middle)
and molecular formula form (bottom). Figure was derived from Zamyatina, A. Aminosugar-Based Immunomodulator Lipid A: Synthetic Approaches. Beilstein J. Org.
Chem. 2018, 14, 25–53.
8 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
An extremely small sampling of the interesting diversity of bacterial saccharides is shown in Fig. 6. Both enantiomers of fucosamine
are found in gram negative bacteria.36,37 The deoxy-gulose molecules are found in bacteria but also are glycan constituents of cardiac
glycosides found in plants, most often the Foxglove species.38 Altrose is found in certain anaerobic bacteria strains such
as Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens strain CF3.39 Glycero-mannoheptoses are common constituents of the LPS core region saccharides from
a variety of bacterial species.40–46
A few words should be said about sialic acids. This 9-carbon sugar is a common glycan found in all vertebrates and has myriad
functions in cells. Referring to Fig. 4, most N- and O-linked glycans in normal cells will be “capped” by sialic acids; this final
addition to a glycan instructs the cell to stop conjugating additional sugars to the formed glycan. In addition, this adds a large
negatively charged coat to the cell surface that has defined effects on cellular properties.47 There are more than 50 sialic acid analogs
known to date across many species.48 Some are also found in bacteria such as those depicted in Fig. 7. These structures illustrate
the diverse biosynthetic pathways that are taken in bacteria as opposed to higher organisms. While Kdn, the “5-deaminated” version
of Neu5Ac, has been found both in bacteria and higher animals, pseudaminic, legionaminic and acinetaminic acids are all found in
bacteria.49
It should be noted that of all the major groups of biological macro/molecules that make up the composition of every cell—
nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids—each one either embodies or is associated with glycan structures: Base pairs of
nucleic acids are composed of a pyrimidine or purine base and a ribose (RNA) or deoxyribose (DNA) ring; the most abundant
post-translational modification of a protein is glycosylation and lipids can be of many forms, including highly important
glycolipids.
To date, the study of cellular glycans has shown that they are present on all cells, from every domain from Archaea—Bacteria—
Eukarya. Thus, we most likely have only scratched the surface of the number and types of glycans that are biosynthesized by various
organisms. This introduction serves to ground the reader for further exploration into glycans from their organism of choice. Further
reading in this series will find chapters dedicated to seaweed polysaccharides (Kim, Chapter 1.04), Mucin type (Brockhausen,
Chapter 3.10), yeast and fungal polysaccharides (Ohno, Chapter 1.03), bacterial exopolysaccharides (Knirel, Chapter 1.02),
nucleocytoplasmic protein glycosylation (Jiang, Chapter 3.06), bacterial zwitterionic polysaccharides (Andreana, Chapter 3.21),
vertebrate N-linked glycans (Suzuki, Chapter 3.01), Proteoglycans and GAGs (Ramirez, Chapter 3.03 and Kitagawa, Chapter 3.02),
Protozoan glycans (McConville, Chapter 3.08), Drosophila melanogaster (Nishihara, Chapter 5.01), Caenorhabditis elegans (Wilson,
Chapter 5.02), plant glycans (Misaki, Chapter 5.05) and human milk oligosaccharides (Garrido, Chapter 5.23 and Urashima).
It may seem obvious from the above discussion that isolating pure glycans, analyzing their composition, determining monomeric
structures, correct linkages and stereochemistry is a daunting task. Many traditional methods are still used today and updates to
instrumentation and experimental techniques have allowed higher resolution and extension to different glycans. Newer analytical
tools and modernization and adaptation of existing tools has allowed carbohydrate analysis and glycomics research to take some
very large leaps in the years since the first edition of this series. This section will very briefly touch on primary analysis methods and
the discovery of some new methods to facilitate cellular glycan structure determination. Some of the unique challenges that the field
is attempting to address are:
1. Monomer separations
2. Oligosaccharide composition
3. Glycoforms
4. Linkage analysis
5. Low abundance of glycosylated proteins (sensitivity)
6. Specificity of reagent probes
7. Reagents for efficient release of various glycan types (O-linked, N-linked)
8. No simple sequencing procedures, unlike nucleic acids and proteins
A few examples from this series are briefly mentioned below.
1.01.2.1 High pH anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) and pulsed amperometric detection (PAD)
This technique has been available for more than 4 decades and is still a method of choice for the separation and detection of
carbohydrates.50,51 There are several challenges to carbohydrate analysis but one major for chromatography is there is no distinct
chromophore for simple UV detection at standard wavelengths. HPAEC-PAD is based on the property that carbohydrates are weak
acids and ionize at high pH. Carbohydrates are run through an anion exchange column where separation can be achieved at high
pH. Carbohydrates are also electrochemically active, that is they contain functional groups that can be oxidized (anomeric position,
hydroxyls, see Tollens test, vide supra). The effluent of the column can be sent to detector where a voltage is applied across electrodes;
a change in current occurs when an analyte is oxidized or reduced, facilitating detection of the separated sugars. The chapter 1.11 by
Rohrer outlines the process in an update to his chapter from 2007.
oligosaccharides. The past 20 years has seen enormous progress in ionization techniques and methods for glycoproteomic analysis
along with an increase in the database information available and bioinformatics platforms for analysis. In this series, the chapter by
Ni et al., (Chapter 1.13) describes a MS technique called logically derived sequence (LODES) multistage tandem mass spectrometry
(MSn). This technique can determine the primary structure of oligosaccharides, with stereochemical information. The chapters by
Smith (Chapter 1.17), Lauc (Chapter 1.19), and others in Volume 3 also refer to mass spec techniques for glycomics research.
Fig. 8 NMR spectrum (left) of methyl b-maltoside (right) with color-coded assignments of the two anomeric protons. HDO is protonated residual solvent from
D2O. The methyl singlet is labeled.
Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come 11
parameters that may yield improved outcomes for defining molecular conformations. Some of the most recognized force field used
in carbohydrate simulations are GAFF1,105,106 CHARMM107–116 and GLYCAM106,117,118 which have been parameterized for the
very unique linkages (anomeric, amino acid-carbohydrate) that are present in oligosaccharides and carbohydrate-protein conju-
gates. Often, NMR data is combined with molecular modeling to “match” each other’s calculations. For example, through-space
interactions defined by NOE’s can be included as “restraints” in simulated structures to maintain specific conformational
adjustments and to insure the fluctuating, calculated conformations do not violate these experimentally-derived limits. An in-depth
discussion of these concepts is available in the chapters by Perez (Chapter 1.15) and Fadda (Chapter 1.16).
The synthesis of glycans of all kinds is of course an entire field to itself. Since the days of Fischer and Hudson, researchers have tried
to synthesize carbohydrate analogs. It was not until perhaps 1953 that the first disaccharide, sucrose, was synthesized by Ray
Lemieux. This was considered a landmark synthesis and his 5% yield was “tops” at the time! Since then, our ability to synthesize
complex glycans has also progressed as other areas of the field. Volume 2 has a full array of chapters to get anyone up to speed on
modern carbohydrate synthesis.
The synthetic routes used to produce oligosaccharides have a few key features that have remained unchanged for generations.
The coupling of two sugar units has commonly been comprised of one saccharide as the glycosyl “donor” and the other the
“acceptor.” The donor will “accept” the second sugar at its anomeric center. Hence the donor needs a leaving group at C1. The
acceptor uses a free hydroxyl as a nucleophile to react with the donor under the auspices of an activating agent that primes the donor
for nucleophilic attack. Since sugars have several free hydroxyl groups, the ones that are not acting as the acceptor nucleophile need
to be masked, or “protected”. After the coupling, a selective deprotection of a separate hydroxyl group frees a second nucleophile to
react with another donor molecule. A schematic of this type of transformation is shown in Fig. 9, taken from Chapter 2.01 by
Oscarson. In the brackets are what are thought to be the intermediate species in the reaction: The top structure is called
an oxocarbenium ion, and through the years, glycosylations were thought to go through this intermediate, making the reaction
an Sn1 like mechanism. There has been some controversy as to the existence of this intermediate and a beautiful discussion of the
theoretical and experimental data can be found in Chapter 2.02 by Blériot.
Glycan synthesis has evolved where there is now an extensive list of functional groups that can be used as donors (thioglycosides,
trichloroacetimidates, xanthates, phosphates, halogens and pentenyl glycosides, to name just a few), an equally large list of
promotors/catalysts and a variety of methods to string together many diverse monosaccharides where reaction economy is
exploited. In addition to chemical synthesis, enzymatic synthesis, through the use of glycosyltransferases and hydrolases, have
made a distinct mark on sugar chemistry in recent years.118 There are several “one-pot” procedures that have been developed that
utilize differential reactivity of donors and acceptors to certain specialized reaction conditions. These were pioneered by
Wong119,120 and have been increasing in popularity. One ingenious method has been developed into an extremely useful technique
in glycan synthesis is the use of a one-pot multi enzyme (OPME) system of Chen.121–124 This system has been expanded to
glycolipids and glycopeptides (Fig. 10).
The one-pot methods were a precursor to the development of automated oligosaccharide synthesis. Prior discussions in this article
confirmed the difficulties in automating glycan assembly. However, great strides have been made in this area since the first edition, and
the chapters by Demchenko (Chapter 2.20), Hurevich (Chapter 2.17) and Downey (Chapter 2.18) outline the latest in this research,
with the development of the first commercial automated oligosaccharide synthesizer, the Glyconeer® (Hurevich Chapter 2.17).
Fig. 9 The glycosylation reaction in schematic form. A donor and an acceptor are coupled through the use of a promotor or catalyst, and a disaccharide is formed,
typically through the intermediacy of the oxocarbenium ion (brackets, top structure).
12 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
Fig. 10 OPME strategy: Carbohydrate substrates and starting materials can be chemically modified followed by enzymatic synthesis. The multi-enzyme system
uses enzymes that can recycle the natural nucleotide diphosphate donors. Subsequent modifications may take place and the process repeated.
One mention should be given to the assembly of a sugar from non-sugar precursors, or the de novo synthesis of glycans
(O’Doherty, Chapter 2.14).
Most reviews on glycans will begin with a paragraph something like this:
“Carbohydrates are the most abundant and structurally diverse naturally occurring organic compounds. They are presented on the surfaces of all types of
cells from different organisms [1]. The cell surface carbohydrate coating (or glycocalyx) can be readily observed under microscopes [2]. Carbohydrates
on mammalian cells are involved in numerous biological and pathological processes including homeostasis, cell-cell interaction, cell migration,
development, bacterial and viral infection, inflammation, immunology, cancer metastasis, etc. [3,4]. The variety of these properties are the results of the
structural diversity of carbohydrates. Unlike proteins and nucleic acids, carbohydrates are not the products of template-driven biosynthesis but are
directly dependent on the expression and substrate specificity of glycosyltransferases as well as the availability of corresponding sugar nucleotides [5].
Diverse monosaccharide building blocks and various stereo- and regiochemistry in glycosidic linkages contribute to the complexity of the linear and
branched structures of carbohydrates. . ...”
The above paragraph recapitulates most of the details of this article: Complexity, multifunctional, non-template biosynthesis,
difficult to isolate or make, etc. The biological functions of glycans are nearly endless, as new roles are discovered often. This series
and other reviews such as the seminal one by Varki13 and his update in 2017 are testaments to how important every variety of
cellular glycan, from bacteria to plants to man are critical for survival. Conversely, they can cause infection and exacerbate illness,
contribute to non-productive cell adhesion and inflammation and drive tumors to be more aggressive and metastasize. As alluded
to above, the first thing any other cell, tissue or molecule “sees” when encountering another cell is a forest of glycans often referred to
as the glycocalyx, and this dense composition of sugars is often involved in orchestration of binding event, permeability of ions and
can be involved in the progression of disease.125–129 This is a collective function of what may be referred to as the “macro” cell
surface glycosylation environment. Each individual glycan may also contribute to structure and function in myriad ways. Recall the
list of glycans that were described in Section 1.01.1.2. Fig. 11 depicts these structures and the wheel lists at least two functions of
each family of glycans. This is simply to set the stage for the fact that all cellular glycans contribute some role in the tertiary structure,
adhesion or biological function of that particular cell type. The importance of this initial meeting between cells is highlighted by
what could be considered the “ultimate” first: We are all aware that life begins by the recognition of eggs by sperm, but it may not be
widely known that this recognition is through a lectin-carbohydrate interaction!130–132
In lieu of attempting any semblance of complete listing of functions for glycans of various forms and from different species, the
reader is referred to the aforementioned reviews and to Volumes 3 and 5 in this series which are dedicated to the biochemistry of
glycans and the role that glycans play in many disease states, respectively. However, a sampling of concepts will be introduced in
Section 1.01.4.2.
Fig. 11 Function “wheel” of the most prominent vertebrate glycan types. Inner wheel lists the glycan type and outer wheel lists two of the many functions that
each of the depicted glycans (outside of the wheel) possess.
These make up a huge array of macromolecules that help choreograph the interactions that glycans have with their intrinsic and
extrinsic environs. Most often referred to as lectins, these proteins contain a non-catalytic domain that can reversibly bind to
different carbohydrates, and their specificities can be for glycans from their own or other species. They mediate interactions of
glycans either within their own cellular space, between cells (adhesion) and they may act as a bridge to higher order structures
mediated by the Glycan-Protein interaction. Lectins usually bind their carbohydrate determinants in a shallow groove on the
protein surface, hence the binding affinities for monosaccharides is consequently quite weak; compensation for this weak
interaction is often accomplished by multivalency, the binding of several glycans and proteins simultaneously (cluster glycoside
[“Velcro”] effect).135–137 Chapter 3.16 by Brewer and Dam provides detailed information on the molecular basis of these inter-
actions. Many of these binding events mediate cellular signaling pathways that are essential for cellular survival and/or cell
death.134,138
Much of our knowledge of lectins stems from the proteins that were originally found in plants.139 As far back as the late 19th
century, it was known that some substances from plants could facilitate agglutination of erythrocytes and hence they were termed
hemagglutinins, or phytohemagglutinins since they were derived from plants.140 Work in the 1940s and 1950s by Boyd, Renkonen,
Morgan and Watkins showed that the agglutination properties of these plant molecules were found to be inhibited by certain sugars,
and it was thought that the function of the plant agents was through the binding of carbohydrate moieties on the red blood cells.
This was the beginning and the basis of what would be the work that differentiated various blood types in to their agglutination
properties from plant lectins. Thus the blood group antigens that we know today as A, B, O and AB are defined by carbohydrate
determinants. There are a host of plant lectins that are used as tools in glycobiology in a variety of different ways. A listing of a small
sample of these and their carbohydrate specificities are shown in Table 2.141 Plant lectins have evolved to mediate many essential
roles in the organism, such as their involvement in defense mechanisms, immunity and growth stimulation.142 Since the
recognition of many carbohydrate determinants of plant lectins is transmissible to many types of glycan presentations, these
proteins have been used for decades as tools in early glycomics and glycobiology research, and Chapter 3.18 by Enam some of the
uses of lectins as analytical tools.
14 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
Adapted from Ravida, A.; Cwiklinski, K.; Aldridge, A.M.; Clarke, P.; Thompson, R.; Gerlach, J.Q.; Kilcoyne, M.; Hokke, C.H.; Dalton, J.P.; O’Neill, S.M.,
Fasciola hepatica Surface Tegument: Glycoproteins at the Interface of Parasite and Host. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 2016, 15 (10), 3139–3153.
Mammalian lectins are as diverse in their functions and those in plants, and play integral roles in the immune system. There are
several diverse groups of lectins that are also involved in critical cellular signaling events. Although too numerous to discuss in
detail, four families should be mentioned here. These are the Selectins,143 Galectins, Siglecs and C-Type Lectins. Selectins are
proteins expressed on platelets (P-Selectin), leukocytes (L-Selectin) and endothelial cells (E-Selectin). These proteins mediate white
blood cell migration and adhesion to sites of inflammation where their carbohydrate determinants are fucosylated and sialylated
saccharides of the Lewis blood group type, such as sialyl Lewis X.144,145 They also are involved in tumor metastasis by binding
overexpressed blood group ligands on tumor cells. Galectins are a series of 15 or so proteins that bind b-galactoside-containing
glycans on a number of cell types.146 Expression and distribution of galectins is tissue and disease state-dependent. Their expression
and activity has been linked to many processes such as tumor progression147–150 and fibrotic diseases.151–153 Siglecs (sialic
acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins) are a family of sialic acid-binding proteins found on the cell surface of immune and
are critical for specific functions.154–156 Their role is to bind to sialic-acid-containing glycoconjugates to mediate roles such as cell
adhesion and signal transduction. They can act either in a cis (bind glycoconjugates on the same cell) or trans (bind glycans from
another cell) fashion. The C-type lectin (CTL) receptors on antigen presenting cells are a series of calcium-dependent (“C-Type,”
as are the selectins) lectins that are involved in endocytosis and facilitate uptake of foreign epitopes from various microbes such
as fungi, viruses and bacteria.157–159 They are known bridges between the innate and adaptive immune system as they recognize
pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Each CTL has a different carbohydrate ligand, and this recognition capability has
been employed in vaccine design to target immunogenic epitopes to APCs.157,160–163 A discussion of selected CTLs in vaccine design
and antigen presentation is described in the Chapter 3.19 by van Kooyk.
a relevant glycan, such as those in GPI anchor construction (Murakami, Chapter 5.21); glycan’s role in demyelination (Kitazume,
Chapter 5.16); Glycation-related disorders (Takahashi, Chapter 5.07); biomarkers in pancreatic cancer (Miyoshi, Chapter 5.27);
role of glycans in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Taniguchi, Chapter 5.20); lung cancer (Honke, Chapter 5.22) and
diabetes (Hart, Chapter 5.08). The number of reports that find novel functions for glycans and glycan-binding-related in many
pathological states is ever rising and has become a major area of clinical-related research.
This introduction is meant to initiate the reader into this amazing world and encourage others to join this group of researchers in the
pursuit of future breakthroughs and discoveries. It is also meant to orient the reader to the outstanding array of monographs in this
series that describe the latest developments in this ever-expanding area. Although not discussed in detail above, the area of glycan
materials and polymers, glyconanotechnology and array-based tools development is one of the most recently developed but could
be one of the most provocative areas of glycoscience. This is the subject of many of the fantastic collection of chapters in Volume 4.
Glycoscience is a unique field that has matured over the past few decades as a result of the ubiquitous nature of glycans and ever
expanding roles they play in nearly all facets of biology.
Since the first edition, there have been several worldwide testaments to the field’s relevance. There are several countries that have
initiated glycoscience-related societies and consortia.
Japan has always been a leader in glycoscience and some of their initiatives are: The Japan Consortium for Glycobiology and
Glycotechnology gives awards, plans symposia, publishes their proceedings and charts future progress. The Mizutani Foundation for
Glycoscience has given out grants to up and coming glycoscientists for more than 30 years. Naoyuki Taniguchi (Editor, Volume 5) is
one of Japan’s leading glycoscientists and has spearheaded many of the initiatives and publications there.
Canada has also led the way in glycoscience beginning at the University of Alberta with the group of Raymond Lemieux. His
research helped evolved the department into the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science. The Canadian Glycomics
Network, or commonly called Glyconet, is a consortium of over 170 researchers across many universities and commercial entities.
Todd Lowary (Chapters 2.08 and 4.09) is actually the director of Glyconet.
In Denmark, the University of Copenhagen Center for Glycomics and the Carlsberg Research Center have been at the forefront of
glycochemistry and glycobiochemistry research.
The USA has a rich history of glycoscience initiatives and the past 20 years has seen this increase exponentially. In 2001, The
National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health awarded a “glue grant,” or a collaborative award
to fund what was to become the Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG). This was a group of scientist who assembled a series
of core facilities to solve some of the questions in glycoscience and curate data from all of these cores as a public resource. In 2012,
the US National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences convened an ad hoc committee to: “Conduct an in-depth
analysis of the current state of research in glycoscience and glycomics in the U.S.” This report that was funded by the NIH mapped
out the future of glycoscience and suggested the best course of action and use of resources to advance the glycosciences. Finally, The
NIH Common Fund, a resource of programs that “address emerging scientific opportunities and pressing challenges in biomedical
research that no single NIH Institute or Center (IC) can address on its own, but are of high priority for the NIH as a whole” funded
three initiatives in glycoscience and awarded several cooperative grants to fund research to:
• develop methods and technologies for synthesis of biomedically relevant carbohydrates
• develop accessible tools for probing and analyzing carbohydrates and their interaction partners
• develop data integration and analysis tools
These programs have seen great success and will continue in the future.
Several centers and departments around the country are dedicated to advancing glycoscience such as The Comprehensive
Carbohydrate Research Center, a center of excellence in glycoscience at the University of Georgia, Glycoworld at the University of
Missouri (Demchenko, Chapter 2.20) and the Center for Functional Glycomics at Harvard University (Cummings, Chapter 1.17).
All these endeavors and resources have both advanced the field and have brought non-specialists in glycoscience “into the fold”.
This is critical to the future success of glycoscience since many scientists may work in an area where a glyco-centric problem may
arise and dispensed with due to lack of expertise. Thus, we need to train the next generation of glycoscientists to continue a tradition
started by many of the authors in these volumes. We need to continue to develop tools that will make interogatation of the glycome
easier; synthetic methods to make all the known glycans available to all that need them and compile the data in repositories and
databases that are easily searchable, well curated and updated continuously. This field can be considered the “DNA/RNA/Protein of
the Future”. It is time to indoctrinate both scientists and laymen to see the wonders of glycoscience and the benefits it can have for
mankind in the future.
16 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
Appendix
Fig. A.1 Latest version of the SNFG listing. Specific shapes are indicative of the type of sugar depicted (Hex, HexNAc, HexA, deoxyHex, etc.). From the
Carbohydrate Structure Database (CSDB)164 website http://csdb.glycoscience.ru/plant_fungal/index.html?help¼eog.
Websites for glycoscience related data and information are listed in the Relevant Websites section (see also chapters in
Volume 1).
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154. Siew, J. J.; Chern, Y. J. Microglial Lectins in Health and Neurological Diseases. Front. Mol. Neurosci. 2018, 11, 158.
155. Chang, Y. C.; Nizet, V. The Interplay between Siglecs and Sialylated Pathogens. Glycobiology 2014, 24 (9), 818–825.
156. Magesh, S.; Ando, H.; Tsubata, T.; Ishida, H.; Kiso, M. High-Affinity Ligands of Siglec Receptors and Their Therapeutic Potentials. Curr. Med. Chem. 2011, 18 (23), 3537–3550.
157. Seppo, A.; Tiemeyer, M. Function and Structure of Drosophila Glycans. Glycobiology 2000, 10 (8), 751–760.
158. van Vliet, S. J.; Garcia-Vallejo, J. J.; van Kooyk, Y. Dendritic Cells and C-Type Lectin Receptors: Coupling Innate to Adaptive Immune Responses. Immunol. Cell Biol. 2008,
86 (7), 580–587.
159. Dam, T. K.; Brewer, C. F. Lectins as Pattern Recognition Molecules: The Effects of Epitope Density in Innate Immunity. Glycobiology 2010, 20 (3), 270–279.
160. Chiffoleau, E. C-Type Lectin-Like Receptors As Emerging Orchestrators of Sterile Inflammation Represent Potential Therapeutic Targets. Front. Immunol. 2018, 9.
161. Su, S. V.; Gurney, K. B.; Lee, B. Sugar and Spice: Viral Envelope-DC-SIGN Interactions in HIV Pathogenesis. Curr. HIV Res. 2003, 1 (1), 87–99.
162. Park, C. G. Vaccine Strategies Utilizing C-Type Lectin Receptors on Dendritic Cells In Vivo. Clin. Exp. Vaccine Res. 2014, 3 (2), 149–154.
163. Hossain, M. K.; Wall, K. A. Use of Dendritic Cell Receptors as Targets for Enhancing Anti-Cancer Immune Responses. Cancer 2019, 11 (3), 418.
164. Egorova, K. S.; Kondakova, A. N.; Toukach, P. V. Carbohydrate Structure Database: Tools for Statistical Analysis of Bacterial, Plant and Fungal Glycomes. Database (Oxford)
2015, 2015, 1–22.
20 Introduction to Comprehensive Glycoscience: The Good, the Better and What’s to Come
Relevant Websites
http://www.glycopedia.eu/resources/online-databases-tools/article/databases—Listing of many databases.
Databases and Bioinformatic Tools for Glycobiology and Glycoproteomics:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7556027/—Databases and Bioinformatic Tools for Glycobiology and Glycoproteomics.
https://glycosmos.org/ —Japanese Society for Carbohydrate Research.
http://www.glycome-db.org/ —Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology developed by researchers at the Soka University and the Complex Carbohydrate
Research Center. University of Georgia.
http://www.glycosciences.de/database/ —Originally the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), now the University of Gießen maintained in the group of Thomas Lütteke (author of
a chapter in Volume 1).
1.02 Bacterial Exopolysaccharides☆
Yuriy A Knirela and Marie-Rose Van Calsterenb, aN. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Moscow, Russia; bSaint-Hyacinthe
Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1.02.1 Introduction 22
1.02.2 Composition, structure, and biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides: General aspects 23
1.02.3 Exopolysaccharides in biofilms 26
1.02.4 Exopolysaccharides of gram-negative bacteria 27
1.02.4.1 Gammaproteobacteria—Enterobacteriales 27
1.02.4.1.1 Enterobacteriaceae: Escherichia coli 27
1.02.4.1.2 Enterobacteriaceae: Klebsiella and Raoultella 28
1.02.4.1.3 Enterobacteriaceae: Other genera 36
1.02.4.1.4 Other Enterobacteriales 36
1.02.4.2 Other Gammaproteobacteria 39
1.02.4.2.1 Vibrionaceae 39
1.02.4.2.2 Pasteurellaceae 42
1.02.4.2.3 Pseudomonadaceae 43
1.02.4.2.4 Moraxellaceae: Acinetobacter baumannii 43
1.02.4.2.5 Other Moraxellaceae 45
1.02.4.2.6 Other families of Gammaproteobacteria 51
1.02.4.3 Alphaproteobacteria 51
1.02.4.3.1 Rhizobacteria and agrobacteria 51
1.02.4.3.2 Sphingomonadaceae 52
1.02.4.3.3 Acetobacteraceae 56
1.02.4.3.4 Other Alphaproteobacteria 56
1.02.4.4 Betaproteobacteria 56
1.02.4.4.1 Burkholderiaceae 56
1.02.4.4.2 Neisseriaceae 59
1.02.4.4.3 Other Betaproteobacteria 59
1.02.4.5 Epsilonproteobacteria 59
1.02.4.5.1 Campylobacteraceae 59
1.02.4.6 FCB group 61
1.02.4.6.1 Bacteroidaceae 61
1.02.4.6.2 Other families of FCB group 62
1.02.5 Exopolysaccharides of gram-positive bacteria 62
1.02.5.1 Bacilli—Lactobacillales: Pathogenic Streptococcus 62
1.02.5.1.1 Streptococcus pneumoniae 62
1.02.5.1.2 Streptococcus agalactiae 69
1.02.5.1.3 Streptococcus suis 69
1.02.5.1.4 Other pathogenic Streptococcus 71
1.02.5.2 Bacilli—Lactobacillales: Lactic acid bacteria 71
1.02.5.2.1 Food Streptococcaceae 72
1.02.5.2.2 Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae 72
1.02.5.3 Other bacilli 79
1.02.5.3.1 Other Lactobacillales 79
1.02.5.3.2 Bacillales 79
1.02.5.4 Clostridia—Clostridiales 81
1.02.5.4.1 Lachnospiraceae 81
1.02.5.4.2 Clostridiaceae 81
1.02.5.5 Actinobacteria: Food bacteria 83
1.02.5.5.1 Bifidobacteriales 83
1.02.5.5.2 Propionibacteriales 83
1.02.5.6 Other Actinobacteria 84
1.02.5.6.1 Corynebacteriales 84
1.02.5.6.2 Micrococcales 84
☆
Change History: January 2020. Y. Knirel and M.-R. Van Calsteren completely updated this chapter from the version in the previous edition.
This is an update of I.W. Sutherland, Bacterial Exopolysaccharides, Comprehensive Glycoscience, edited by Hans Kamerling, Elsevier, 2007, pp. 521–558.
1.02.5.6.3 Streptomycetales 87
1.02.6 Conclusions 87
References 87
Glossary
ABC transporter- and synthase-dependent pathways Pathways of biosynthesis of homopolysaccharides and
heteropolysaccharides with a small repeating unit. According to the former pathway, polymerization is accomplished by
sequential glycosyl transfer on an acceptor and followed by export of the polymer by the ATP-binding cassette (ABC)
transporter. Synthase-dependent pathway employs a single glycosyltransferase or a multi-protein complex consisting of
a glycosyltransferase and a co-polymerase.
Biofilm A slimy polymeric matrix composed of extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and DNA, in which bacterial
cells stick to each other and often also to biotic or abiotic surfaces.
Biological repeating unit An oligosaccharide that is assembled on a lipid carrier and then polymerized according to the Wzy-
dependent pathway.
Capsule A protective polysaccharide layer outside the bacterial cell associated with the cell envelope.
Chemical repeating unit Any oligosaccharide repeat of a polysaccharide that may coincide with the biological repeating unit
or differ from it by cyclic permutation of the constituent monosaccharides.
Sheath A protective extracellular microtube, in which a chain of bacterial cells is enclosed.
Slime A viscous material excreted from the bacterial cell into the surrounding medium. Slime consists mostly of
exopolysaccharides and may also contain glycoproteins and glycolipids.
Wzy-dependent pathway A pathway of biosynthesis of heteropolysaccharides, which is distinguished by the assembly of
an oligosaccharide on a lipid carrier followed by polymerization.
1.02.1 Introduction
The present chapter is devoted to bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs). These biopolymers can be divided into two types: cell-bound
capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) and non-bound polysaccharides or slime, which are excreted into the environment. When there is
not enough data to distinguish between these two types, a more general term “exopolysaccharide” can be used. Polysaccharides
reported as cell wall or teichoic acids were not included, contrary to some presumably extracellular or capsular polysaccharides that
employed similar extraction procedures or were extracted from whole cells.
Bacterial EPSs are important components of biofilms implicated in cell adhesion to biotic and abiotic surfaces. They provide
resistance to desiccation and protect bacteria from the external milieu and host immune defenses, such as complement mediated
killing and phagocytosis, by minimizing complement deposition on the bacterial surface. Some bacteria form a protective sheath,
which represents an extracellular microtube, in which a chain of cells is enclosed.
The EPSs are also involved in interactions of bacteria with plants and bacteriophages and play an important role in the host-
symbiont specificity. Fine CPS structure defines the serological specificity of bacterial strains, and CPSs are widely used for
serotyping of bacteria. Recently, application of CPS-based vaccines, including the 23-valent pneumococcal vaccine, the tetravalent
meningococcal vaccine, and the Hib glycoconjugate vaccine, has dramatically reduced the rate of infectious diseases caused by the
bacterial pathogens.
Many bacterial EPSs possess rheological properties and produce highly viscous solutions or gels. Some of them, such as bacterial
cellulose, hyaluronic acid, dextran, xanthan, emulsan, gellan, and some other EPSs, represent valuable renewable resources having
commercial applications in medicine, agriculture, food industry, soil remediation, concrete, and oil fields. This issue is covered in
a review by I. Sutherland published in the 1st edition of Comprehensive Glycoscience.1
Chemical, physicochemical, and biological studies of EPSs help better understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases and
provide information that is necessary for development of vaccines and diagnostic reagents. Understanding their biosynthesis is
required for developing the knack of its regulation to increase production yields of commercially important EPSs.
The present article focuses mainly on EPSs of medical bacteria, which have been recognized as the major surface-associated
virulence factor, as well as plant-associated and food bacteria. EPSs of marine bacteria of the orders Alteromonadales, Cellvibrio-
nales, Oceanospirillales (all Gammaproteobacteria), Rhodobacterales (Alphaproteobacteria), and Rhodocyclales
(Betaproteobacteria) are not included as they were the subject of several recent reviews.2–4 It is not excluded that some other
contributions in the field of bacterial EPSs have been overlooked.
Composition and structure of bacterial polysaccharides, including EPSs, have been surveyed repeatedly,5–9 and an annually
updated Bacterial Carbohydrate Structure Database (BCSDB) is available online at http://csdb.glycoscience.ru/bacterial. Whenever
EPS structures of particular bacteria have been presented in a previous review or summarized in a research article, only these papers
are referenced here to avoid extensive citation of papers published earlier. For revised structures, only the publication reporting the
final structure is cited. Some more published structures may be incorrect and require revision. Structures of some
Bacterial Exopolysaccharides 23
heteropolysaccharides are not displayed here as in the original article but permuted to present a more likely biological repeating
unit, which is assembled on a lipid carrier and then polymerized according to the Wzy-dependent pathway of bacterial polysac-
charide synthesis. When known, various biosynthesis pathways of the EPSs are discussed in the corresponding sections.
Classification of bacteria is subject to change. In this review, the current names for bacterial classes, families, genera, and species
are used according to the NCBI Taxonomy Browser (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/). When an EPS structure was
reported under a different bacterial name, the old name is indicated in parentheses.
Monosaccharide composition of bacterial EPSs is highly diverse (Table 1). Most EPS components are monosaccharides that are
widely distributed in nature. These are pentoses, hexoses, hexosamines, their 6-deoxy derivatives, and hexuronic acids. Sugars that
have not been found outside the Bacteria can be exemplified by various stereoisomers of heptoses and 6-deoxyheptoses in
Campylobacter spp. and aldulosonic acids, such as isomers of 5,7-diamino-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxynon-2-ulosonic acids in Acinetobacter
baumannii, D-lyxo-hex-2-ulosonic acid and rhodaminic acid (an isomer of neuraminic acid) in Rhodococcus spp., and branched
monosaccharides named yersiniose and erwiniose in Bacteroides fragilis and Pectobacterium atrosepticum, respectively (Fig. 1). In most
Two isomers of this class, one having the arabino configuration, the other with unknown configuration, have also been reported.
a
Another isomer of this class (rhodaminic acid), having the lyxo configuration of the C-4−C-6 fragment, has been found.
b
24 Bacterial Exopolysaccharides
CH2OH
HO
OH OH OH
O HOH2C CO2H
HO O
HO CO2H HO
HO
OH
1 2
OH OH OH OH
OH OH OH OH
5 6
OH OH OH OH
7 8
OH OH
H3C H3C H3C H3C
O O
OH OH OH
OH OH OH OH
9 10
Fig. 1 Higher sugar components of bacterial exopolysaccharides. (1) Ketodeoxyoctonic acid (Kdo); (2) ketodeoxynononic acid (Kdn); (3) neuraminic acid (Neu); (4)
pseudaminic acid (Pse); (5) legionaminic acid (Leg); (6) 8-epilegionaminic acid (8eLeg); (7) acinetaminic acid (Aci); (8) 8-epiacinetaminic acid (8eAci); (9) yersiniose;
(10) erwiniose. For the systematic names of the monosaccharides see Table 1.
cases, the absolute configuration of monosaccharides has been unambiguously determined, but in a few cases it remains unknown
or (for L-glucuronic and 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-L-glucuronic acids), in our opinion, requires revision.
Most monosaccharides exist exclusively in the pyranose form, but ketoses, such as D-threo-pent-2-ulose (xylulose), L-sorbose, and
D-fructose, as well as 6-deoxy-D-altro-heptose are present only as furanosides, for xylulose this being the only possible form. Some
other monosaccharides, including L-arabinose, D-ribose, D-galactose, and D-fucose, occur in both forms.
N-Acetyl and O-acetyl groups are widespread in EPSs, whereas other N-acyl (e.g., formyl, acetimidoyl, 3-hydroxybutanoyl) and
O-acyl (L-glyceroyl, succinoyl) substituents are much less common (Table 2). In some EPSs, hexuronic acids exist as a primary amide
Bacterial Exopolysaccharides 25
Where known, the absolute configuration of lactic acid, 3-hydroxybutanoic acid, and pyruvic acid acetal is indicated in polysaccharide structures.
or an amide with an amino compound, like 2-aminoethanol, 2-amino-1,3-propanediol, or an amino acid. A number of EPSs are
acidic due to the presence of ether-linked lactic acid or acetalically linked pyruvic acid. Some other EPSs contain a phosphate group
that attaches 2-aminoethanol, choline, or various alditols or interlinks two monosaccharides. Rarely occurring are a cyclic sugar
phosphate and derivatives of a phosphonate and a phosphoramidate.
EPSs are typically made of oligosaccharide repeats (K units), which may be linear or branched with one or several mono- or
oligosaccharide side chains and consist of two to ten monosaccharide residues. Some bacteria produce extracellular homopoly-
saccharides, mainly glucans and fructans, other homoglycans being less common. More than one structurally related or sometimes
unrelated EPSs may occur in one strain. The length of the EPS chain varies considerably from several oligosaccharide repeats to
hundreds and even more of them.
Biosynthesis of EPSs of gram-negative bacteria is accomplished by one of three known pathways: the Wzy-dependent pathway,
the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter-dependent pathway, and the synthase-dependent pathway.10,11 Gram-positive bacteria
use the Wzy- and synthase-dependent pathways, but not the ABC transporter-dependent pathway, for EPS biosynthesis.
Heteropolysaccharides usually are synthesized by the so-called Wzy-dependent pathway, which is initiated by the transfer of
a sugar 1-phosphate from a nucleotide (UDP) derivative to undecaprenyl phosphate on the cytoplasmic side of the inner
membrane. Then an oligosaccharide that corresponds to the biological repeating unit of the EPS is assembled by sequential transfer
of other constituent monosaccharides by glycosyltransferases, which are specific to sugars and linkages and thus dictate the
composition and structure of the repeating unit. Further pathways may diverge: after translocation across the inner membrane
with the help of flippase Wzx, the repeating unit can either be polymerized to a polysaccharide or ligated to lipid A or a protein to
give a short-chain lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or a glycoprotein, respectively. Polymerization is accomplished by another transmem-
brane protein, polymerase Wzy, with participation of modal chain length regulator (copolymerase) Wzz.
In heteroglycans that are synthesized by the Wzy-dependent pathway, the first monosaccharide of the biological repeating unit
possesses the D-gluco or D-galacto configuration and may be D-Glc, D-Gal, or an N-acyl derivative of a 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-hexose
(D-GlcN, D-GalN) or a 2-amino-2,6-dideoxy-D-hexose (D-QuiN, D-FucN, D-QuiN4N, D-FucN4N). Data on bacterial EPS often are
limited to the structure of the so-called chemical repeating unit, which may either agree with the structure of the biological repeating
unit or be any cyclic permutation thereof. One can assume that in heteropolysaccharides whose biosynthesis pathway has not been
elucidated, a D-gluco- or a D-galacto-configured monosaccharide also is the first in the repeating unit.
In the Wzy-dependent pathway, the CPS biosynthesis is regulated by a phosphoregulatory system, whose main components
consist of bacterial tyrosine kinases and their cognate phosphatases.12 The ability to regulate capsule biosynthesis has been shown
to be vital for pathogenicity, making the phosphoregulatory proteins suitable as drug targets.
Homopolysaccharides and some heteropolysaccharides that have relatively small repeating units (three monosaccharide
residues in the main chain at most) often are synthesized by the ABC transporter-dependent pathway. In this case, polymerization
is accomplished by sequential glycosyl transfer on an acceptor composed of an oligosaccharide primer linked to a lipid carrier that is
embedded into the inner membrane. The completed polymer molecule is then exported by the ABC transporter, but it is not clear
whether chain extension must be completed before the translocation across the inner membrane begins.
26 Bacterial Exopolysaccharides
Biofilm is a slimy extracellular matrix composed of EPSs, proteins, lipids, and DNA, in which bacterial cells stick to each other and
often also to a biotic or abiotic surface. It plays an important role in the persistence of chronic infections by increasing tolerance to
antibiotics and endowing resistance to phagocytosis and other components of the immune system. Biofilms often contain EPSs
common for groups of bacteria and having relatively simple structures, such as dextran, levan, alginate, poly-b-(1!6)-N-acetyl-D-
glucosamine (PNAG), cellulose, and the Pel polysaccharide.
Dextran, that mainly consists of a-(1!6)-linked D-glucose, and levan, a predominantly b-(2!6)-linked D-fructan, contribute to
biofilm production by a wide range of bacteria, including human and plant pathogens. Both polymers may be branched to different
degrees.
Alginate is the major component of the biofilm matrix produced by mucous strains of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas
aeruginosa, which colonize the lungs and cause chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients. In a soil bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii,
this polymer is an integral part of the layers surrounding the desiccation-resistant cysts formed by the bacteria under unfavorable
environmental conditions. Alginic acid is a linear polymer composed of b-D-ManpA and a-L-GulpA residues randomly distributed
along the polymer chain. It is first synthesized as a homopolymer of the former, and then a part of the monosaccharide residues are
epimerized at C-5 to give the latter. The degree of epimerization varies between bacterial species and strains of the same species.
Some D-ManA residues, but not L-GulA residues, are O-acetylated at position 2 and/or 3.
Cellulose, a linear b-(1!4)-linked homopolymer of D-Glcp, is produced by Acetobacter xylinum and a variety of other Proteo-
bacteria, including members of the families Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Vibrionaceae. In biofilm of Pseudomonas
fluorescens SBW25, acetylated cellulose was found with 14% of D-Glc residues carrying a single O-acetyl group at any position.15
Cellulose modified with phosphoethanolamine is present in E. coli.16 Due to the absence of lignin and hemicellulose, bacterial
cellulose is considered as a biocompatible material having potential application in regenerative medicine.
In PNAG, a b-(1!6)-linked polymer of D-GlcpNAc, some amino sugar residues lack the N-acetyl substituent owing to partial
de-N-acetylation, which takes place after synthesis of a fully N-acetylated glycan. PNAG has been found in a number of gram-negative
bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Yersinia pestis, Bordetella spp., Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae,
Acinetobacter baumannii, as well as some gram-positive pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis). Due to a cationic character,
this polymer favors interactions between polysaccharide strands and the cell wall and/or lectin-like proteins, leading to intercellular
adhesion.17 Conjugates based on a partially de-N-acetylated form of PNAG or synthetic b-(1!6)-linked D-GlcpN oligomers18 have
potential of vaccines capable to elicit protective immunity to the broad range of PNAG-producing pathogens.
The Pel polysaccharide occurs in biofilms formed by P. aeruginosa and Ralstonia solanacearum. It is composed predominantly -
of (1!4)-linked D-GalpNAc as well as D-GlcpNAc residues randomly distributed along the linear polymer chain19 (configurations of
the glycosidic linkages of the monosaccharides remain to be determined). The polymer is positively charged due to de-N-acetylation
of some amino sugar residues, which enables interaction of the Pel polysaccharide with other key biofilm matrix components.
All EPSs mentioned above are produced by the synthase-dependent pathway.11 The synthesis of alginate, cellulose, PNAG, and
Pel is post-translationally regulated by binding the secondary messenger bis-(3-50 )-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate to the
synthase complex consisting of a glycosyltransferase and a co-polymerase. After polymerization and transport across the membrane,
the EPSs are frequently subjected to modifications by additional enzymes present in the periplasm, which are critical for the
formation of biofilms, bacterial virulence, and persistence. Enzymes for regulation of the synthesis, polymerization, translocation,
modifications, and export of these EPSs are encoded in a single operon alg, bcs, pga, and pel, respectively.
Dextran and levan are synthesized outside the cell by dextransucrase and levansucrase classified as glycoside hydrolases, which
catalyze the transfer of glucose or fructose, respectively, from sucrose onto a growing oligo- or polysaccharide chain.10 The enzymes
are secreted and anchored to the cell wall, but the exact enzymatic mechanisms of chain initiation and elongation of the sucrase-
dependent polymers remain to be determined.
In addition to the C-5-epimerization by AlgG and O-acetylation with the help of four proteins AlgIJFX, alginate is degraded by
alginate lyase AlgL, which is an exo-enzyme, cleaving sugars at the polysaccharide end by the mechanism of b-elimination. Cellulose
is degraded by a cellulose hydrolase BcsZ, which is an endo-acting enzyme. Multi-domain proteins PgaB and PelA involved in the
Bacterial Exopolysaccharides 27
biosynthesis of PNAG and Pel, respectively, exhibit both hydrolase and de-N-acetylase activities. The hydrolases and alginate lyase
can be involved in regulation of polymer length and export, but their exact biological role remains unknown. Due to the ability to
disrupt the preformed biofilms and to prevent biofilm formation, these enzymes are considered as potential therapeutics for the
treatment of chronic biofilm-related infections.
The current understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the synthesis of the EPSs described in this section, including
the similarities and differences of the corresponding synthase systems, is described in recent reviews.10,11
Colanic acid is a polyanionic polysaccharide having a conserved structure. It contains D-Glc, D-Gal, L-Fuc, and two acidic
components, D-GlcpA and pyruvic acid acetal, as well as O-acetyl groups. In a highly mucoid strain E. coli K-12,
an oligosaccharide that corresponds to the colanic acid repeat is linked to the LPS core to give so-called MLPS.24 The data of this
oligosaccharide indicate that the reported colanic acid structure requires revision as follows:
→4)-α--Fucp-(1→4)-α--Fucp2|3Ac-(1→3)-β--Glcp-(1→
(R)-Pyr-(2=4,6)-α--Galp-(1→4)-β--GlcpA-(1→3)-α--Galp2Ac-(1→3)┘
In E. coli, the chromosomal gene cluster responsible for production of colanic acid is located downstream of the O-antigen gene
cluster. Being structurally similar to E. coli group 1 capsules, colanic acid is synthesized by an essentially identical process, including
translocation of a preassembled lipid-linked oligosaccharide unit across the inner membrane with the help of flippase Wzx followed
by its polymerization catalyzed by Wzy.25 Protein components Wza, Wzb, and Wzc involved with the export of the polysaccharides
are similar as well, but the expression of colanic acid and group 1 CPSs is regulated differently.20
Average 112.383
Discussion of the Results.
In the first five determinations, the analytical operations were
conducted as nearly as possible alike, but the preparation of the
portions of cadmium chloride taken for analysis was varied very
much as will be seen by referring back to this part of this paper. The
results do not vary more than ±0.015 from their average. This is very
strong evidence of the purity of the chloride used for, if it contained
any impurity, we should have expected to vary the amount in the
different portions. After this, attention was paid especially to the
analytical process, for it was thought that there probably was some
serious error in the method, the result being higher than any that had
previously been obtained, if we exclude Dumas’ first series which he
himself did not accept. The conditions were varied in many ways to
see how much the result could be influenced, but under no
conditions were results as low as Huntington’s average (112.24)
obtained. A number of errors were found in the method during the
work, but they seem to neutralize each other to a great extent. The
more important ones will now be given. Nearly every filtrate including
the corresponding wash water was examined for chlorine after the
silver and cadmium had been precipitated by hydrogen sulphide.
The excess of hydrogen sulphide was expelled by boiling, after the
addition of some nitric acid. In two cases an inverted condenser was
used. On adding silver nitrate a precipitate was always obtained
showing the presence of chlorine. Care was always taken to filter off
sulphur formed by the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide, before adding
the silver nitrate. The precipitate was never very heavy, and was not
estimated quantitatively. It is evident that cadmium nitrate exerts a
solvent action on silver chloride. In some cases a very large excess
of silver nitrate was added but it did not change the results markedly.
Silver nitrate itself dissolved silver chloride to some extent. The
increase in insolubility, if any, on adding an excess of silver nitrate is
probably counterbalanced by the increased error due to occlusion of
nitrates in the silver chloride. Stas (Aronstein’s Trans. p. 156) says it