Publisher Summary This chapter describes the methods used for isolating and characterizing the noncellulosic polysaccharides of the primary walls of suspension-cultured sycamore cells These procedures are applicable to the study of other types of cell walls Cell walls form the basic structural framework of the plant, defining the shape and size of plant cells and tissues Cell walls are classified as either primary or secondary, depending upon their mechanical properties and chemical composition The primary cell wall is a mechanically dynamic structure encasing the cell during the period of rapid expansion that follows cell division The secondary cell wall is, relative to the primary cell wall, a mechanically static structure that determines the shape and size of the mature cell The chapter presents the experiments for the isolation of plant cell walls and the isolation of polysaccharides from cell walls and from extracellular polysaccharides of suspension-cultured plant cells and the chemical methods used for characterizing polysaccharides

Isolation and characterization of plant cell walls and cell wall components

Publisher Summary Aberrant glycosylation is the most common phenomenon associated with oncogenic transformation expressed in cell membranes of animal and human cancer cells. Such aberrant structures at the surface membranes may well be effective targets in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human cancer. Many of the aberrant glycosylation products can be recognized by specific MAbs as tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens. Many of these antigens have been identified as carbohydrates, thus there is increasing evidence that essentially all human cancers are characterized by aberrant glycosylation. Aberrant glycosylation as such may be the basis of inappropriate cell/cell and cell/matrix interactions that may be reflected in the abnormal cell social behavior of tumor cells, such as uncontrolled cell growth, invasiveness, and metastatic potential. Whatever the genetic or epigenetic basis of expression of aberrant glycosylation is, the phenomenon is of crucial importance in understanding the antisocial behavior of tumor cells as well as in practical applications in diagnosis and treatment of human cancer.

Aberrant glycosylation in tumors and tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens

A monoclonal antibody-defined antigen associated with gastrointestinal cancer is a ganglioside containing sialylated lacto-N-fucopentaose II.

Sulfated polysaccharides and their lower molecular weight oligosaccharide derivatives from marine macroalgae have been shown to possess a variety of biological activities. The present paper will review the recent progress in research on the structural chemistry and the bioactivities of these marine algal biomaterials. In particular, it will provide an update on the structural chemistry of the major sulfated polysaccharides synthesized by seaweeds including the galactans (e.g., agarans and carrageenans), ulvans, and fucans. It will then review the recent findings on the anticoagulant/antithrombotic, antiviral, immuno-inflammatory, antilipidemic and antioxidant activities of sulfated polysaccharides and their potential for therapeutic application.

Chemical Structures and Bioactivities of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Marine Algae

Determination of the d and l configuration of neutral monosaccharides by high-resolution capillary g.l.c.

New methylation procedures and the combined application of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of mixtures of methylated sugars permit methylation analysis of polysaccharides to be performed more accurately, faster, and with less material than previously.

Carl Gustaf Hellerqvist

Papers

Gas‐Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry in Methylation Analysis of Polysaccharides

Structural studies on the O-specific side-chains of the cell-wall lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella typhimurium 395 ms

Anomeric Structures of Globoside and Ceramide Trihexoside of Human Erythrocytes and Hamster Fibroblasts

Structural studies on the O-specific side-chains of the cell-wall lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella typhimurium LT2

Structural studies of the common-core polysaccharide of the cell-wall lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella typhimurium