Abstract
AbstractCarbohydrates are frequently found attached to lipids (e.g., glycoglycerolipids and glycosphingolipids), proteins (glycoproteins and proteoglycans), or in some cases, both (glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchored proteins). Three main types of protein modification are found in vertebrates:N‐linked glycosylation,O‐linked glycosylation, and the attachment of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors; also, a fourth rarer type,C‐mannosylation, is found. In the main types, the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates occurs in two specialized, membranous biosynthetic compartments within the cell: the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus. Degradation of glycoconjugates occurs in another specialized membranous digestive compartment: the lysosome. The two major groups of enzymes that mediate the biosynthesis and degradation of glycoconjugates are glycosyltransferases and glycoside hydrolases. This article will review the classification and mechanisms of glycosyltransferases and glycoside hydrolases and give an overview of their roles in the biosynthesis and degradation of vertebrate glycoconjugates: glycolipids, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors.
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