Glycans in Diseases and Therapeutics

Glycomedicine plays major role in cell-cell adhesion i.e. a method used by cells of the immune system via sugar-binding proteins called lectins, which identifies specific carbohydrate moieties. Glycan’s (carbohydrate oligomers) are the so-called “building blocks” of carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins and lipids play major roles in many biological phenomena as well as in various pathophysiological processes. Many scientists in other fields of research have now realized that glycosylation, i.e. the addition of glycans to a protein backbone, is the most abundant post translational modification reactions and is an important field of research and sometimes they require a glycobiology and/or glycochemistry approach to be used.