The Lipid Pathway of Protein Glycosylation and its Inhibitors: The Biological Significance of Protein-Bound Carbohydrates

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the inhibitors of proteins glycosylation acting at the level of lipid-linked saccharides formation, compounds that interfere with stages after the transfer of oligosaccharides to the protein. Dolichols are long-chain poly(isoprenol)s found in eukaryotes only and consist of 13–22 isoprene units. The inhibitors of lipid-dependent glycosylation of proteins are also antiviral and antibacterial agents. Glycoproteins are widely distributed in nature, being found in the cytoplasm of cells and in plasma membranes, cell walls, secretions, mucins, and body fluids. Information on the significance of carbohydrate chains of interferon—the protective agent against a number of virus diseases—has been obtained by using the inhibitors of glycosylation during its synthesis. Many aspects of the social behavior of cells are determined by the composition, arrangement, and interaction of cell-surface molecules. Although 2-deoxy- d -arabinose-hexose has been shown mainly to affect glycosylation (in the systems studied so far), its mode of action in more complex, biological systems may not always depend on its well known property.