Glycobiology Advance Access published online on February 16, 2007
Glycobiology, doi:10.1093/glycob/cwm018
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The Expression and Functions of Glycoconjugates in Neural Stem Cells
Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics and Institute of Neuroscience, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912, USA
* Corresponding author: Robert K. Yu, Ph.D., Med.Sc.D. Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics and Institute of Neuroscience, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Tel: 706-721-0699 Fax: 706-721-8727 E-mail: ryu{at}mcg.edu
Received on January 2, 2007; revised on February 11, 2007; accepted on February 11, 2007
The mammalian central nervous system is organized by a variety of cells such as neurons and glial cells. These cells are generated from a common progenitor, the neural stem cell (NSC). NSCs are defined as undifferentiated neural cells that are characterized by their high proliferative potential while retaining the capacity for self-renewal and multipotency. Glycoconjugates carrying carbohydrate antigens, including glycoproteins, glycolipids, and proteoglycans, are primarily localized on the plasma-membrane surface of cells and serve as excellent biomarkers at various stages of cellular differentiation. Moreover, they also play important functional roles in determining cell fate such as self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation. In the present review, we discuss the expression pattern and possible functions of glycoconjugates and carbohydrate antigens expressed during development in NSCs, with an emphasis on stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1), human natural killer antigen-1 (HNK-1), polysialic acid-neural cell-adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), prominin-1, gp130, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, heparan sulfate proteoglycans, cystatin C, galectin-1, glycolipids, and Notch.
Key words: development / glycolipids / glycoproteins / niche / proteoglycans
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