Engineering synthetic glycan co‐receptors into the glycocalyx of muscle cells to control early stages of neuromuscular junction development

Abstract

Glycans (also known as carbohydrates, saccharides or, simply, sugars) are among the most intriguing carriers of biological information in living systems. The structures of glycans not only convey the cells' physiological state, but also regulate cellular communication and responses by engaging receptors on neighboring cells and in the extracellular matrix. Despite their structural complexity, individual glycans rarely engage their protein partners with high affinity. Yet, glycans modulate biological processes with exquisite selectivity and specificity. To correctly evaluate glycan interactions and their biological consequences, one needs to look beyond individual glycan structures and consider the entirety of the cell‐surface landscape. There, glycans are presented on protein scaffolds, or are linked directly to membrane lipids, forming a complex, hierarchically organized network with specialized functions, called the glycocalyx. In this presentation, I will describe our studies toward engineering the glycocalyx of differentiated myotube cultures to present co‐receptors for the nerve‐derived synaptogenic signal, agrin, aimed at obtaining control over organization of acetylcholine receptors in the postsynaptic terminals of developing neuromuscular junctions.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.