Marine Sulfated Glycans

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 426

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
Interests: sulfated glycans; marine algal glycans; glycosaminoglycans; structural characterization; structure-activity relationship; glycomaterial
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Glycans are fundamental and essential macromolecules found in all living organisms. Over the years, they have been recognized as structural components and critical participants in various physiological processes. Among the diverse categories of glycans, sulfated glycans have attracted increasing attention due to their promising biological activities and potential applications in biomaterials.

One of the most well-known families of sulfated glycans is the glycosaminoglycans, which includes heparin, an anticoagulant widely used for over a century, and chondroitin sulfate, a major extracellular matrix component known for its role in joint health. However, in addition to terrestrial animal-derived glycosaminoglycans, marine sulfated glycans have emerged as an exciting area of research. Numerous studies have revealed their diverse structural features and promising bioactivities, such as anticoagulant, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, and antiviral effects, as well as their potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Given the vastness of the oceans and the abundance of sulfate in seawater, we believe that marine environments hold a significant reservoir of sulfated polysaccharides waiting to be explored. Research in this field contributes to theoretical science, such as expanding the natural glycan pool and facilitating structure-activity relationship studies, and holds great promise for advancing biomedical and material development.

In this Special Issue, we are dedicated to showcasing discoveries and advances in the field of marine sulfated glycans from various organisms, including marine plants, animals, and microbes. We welcome both review articles and original research papers. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the discovery, preparation, compositional analysis, structural elucidation, method/protocol development, bioactivity, structure–activity relationships, and biomedical and material applications of marine sulfated glycans.

We look forward to presenting fellow researchers’ work in this exciting field and promoting your contributions to academia and industry through this Special Issue of our open-access journal.

Dr. Yuefan Song
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • marine sulfated glycans
  • glycosaminoglycan mimetics
  • algal glycans
  • fucoidans
  • bioactivity
  • biomedical application
  • biomaterial

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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15 pages, 3882 KiB  
Article
Structural Characterization and Anticoagulant Potential of Colochirus quadrangularis Fucosylated Glycosaminoglycan 5−12 Oligomers with Unusual Branches
by Xuedong Zhang, Guangwei Yan, Xinming Liu, Jiewen Fu, Xiang Shi, Pei Cao, Yuqian Sun, Shengping Zhong, Jiale Nong, Peiqi Jiang, Yonghong Liu, Baoshun Zhang, Qingxia Yuan and Longyan Zhao
Mar. Drugs 2025, 23(2), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/md23020064 (registering DOI) - 1 Feb 2025
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Abstract
The depolymerized products and oligosaccharide fractions from sea cucumber fucosylated glycosaminoglycans (FGs) are promising anticoagulant candidates, and more novel FG-derived oligosaccharides from low-priced sea cucumbers are expected to be obtained. This study isolated 5−12 oligomers (OF1−OF3) with unusual branches from β-eliminative depolymerized products [...] Read more.
The depolymerized products and oligosaccharide fractions from sea cucumber fucosylated glycosaminoglycans (FGs) are promising anticoagulant candidates, and more novel FG-derived oligosaccharides from low-priced sea cucumbers are expected to be obtained. This study isolated 5−12 oligomers (OF1−OF3) with unusual branches from β-eliminative depolymerized products of Colochirus quadrangularis FG (CqFG). Detailed NMR analyses showed that OF1−OF3 consisted of a chondroitin 4,6-sulfates backbone and some sulfated fucosyl branches (FucS), including monosaccharides (α-l-Fuc2S4S, α-l-Fuc3S, α-l-Fuc4S, α-l-Fuc2S3S4S, and α-l-Fuc2S) and a disaccharide D-Gal3S4S-α1,3-l-Fuc2S4S with the ratio of ~36:35:10:7:3:9, attached to the C-3 position of β-d-GlcA or its derivatives, such as α-l-Δ4,5GlcA and β-d-GlcA-ol. Unusually, α-l-Fuc3S was the main FucS branch; no α-l-Fuc3S4S branch was found, and α-l-Fuc2S3S4S and α-l-Fuc2S branches were also found in OF1–OF3. The OF2 and OF3 could strongly inhibit the intrinsic and common coagulation pathways. Intrinsic FXase is a target of OF2 and OF3 inhibiting the intrinsic coagulation pathways, and the unusual side chains may increase the intrinsic FXase inhibitory activity. OF2 and OF3 showed negligible bleeding risk, and less bleeding than heparin (HP), low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs), and CqFG. These findings support novel FG oligosaccharides with some unusual branches from low-priced sea cucumbers to be prepared as safer anticoagulants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Sulfated Glycans)
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