Chapter 11 - Carbohydrates Flashcards
what are the heteropolysaccarides called?
glycosaminoglycans (GAG)
what are glycosaminoglycans (GAG) made of?
made of disaccharides over and over again
what is the most important GAG to humans?
hyaluronate
what are the three important sugar/protein combinations?
proteoglycans
peptidoglycans
glycoproteins
what is a proteoglycan? where does it occur? what is the biological reason for there existence?
non covalent large structures of proteins and GAGs
occur in multicellular animals
change the viscosity of fluid they are in
(example: the synovial fluid in our joints we would want viscosity there
what is a peptidoglycan? where does it occur? what is the biological reason for there existence?
covalently bound into one big polymer that is the cell wall of a bacteria
found only in bacteria
structure of bacterial cell walls
what is a glycoproteins? where does it occur? what is the biological reason for there existence?
protein decorated with an oligosaccharide that are covalently attached to the protein
found in every cell
role 1: they can protect the protein from oxidative damage
role 2: they serve a purpose in information specifically cell to cell recognition
what is the most important and the most widespread in biology sugar/protein combinations?
glycoproteins
what proteins bind to and recognize glycoproteins?
lectins
where are lectins found? And why?
on the surface of cells
so that two cells can come next to each other and decide if they can bind and if they “like” to be next to each other
why is the sorting characteristic helpful in lectins?
it helps with the sorting of tissues in the body.
what mediates glycoproteins information passing?
oligosaccharide on the glycoprotein
lectins
