CARBOHYDRATES

Polysaccharides, glycosaminoglycans,
glycoproteins and proteoglycans
Antibiotic glycosides
Polysaccharide
Classes
According to structure homopolysaccharides
and heteropolysaccharides
According to function storage, structural and
recognition

Cellulose
the most abundant natural polymer on earth
the principal strength and support of trees
and plants
can also be soft and fuzzy - in cotton

Cellulose glucose polymer, structural function in plant
cell wall, insoluble and not digestible in human gut
Dietary fiber (roughage)
Complex carbohydrates with some protein
components
Soluble fiber complex starches amylopectins
and other pectins
Insoluble fiber contains cellulose

Importance of dietary fiber
Promotes peristaltic movement, decreasing
transit time in the gut
Binds toxins and carcinogens, reducing colon
and other cancers
Binds cholesterol, reducing blood cholesterol

Termites can digest the cellulose in
wood, and cattle can digest the
cellulose in grass, because bacteria in
their digestive tracts produce the
enzyme cellulase, which hydrolyzes the
-glycosidic linkage in cellulose.


Chitin
Repeating monomer N-acetyl--D-
glucosamine
Found in exoskeleton of insects and
crustaceans
Found in cell walls of yeast, fungi and algae
Other Structural Polysaccharides
Alginates - Ca-binding polymers in algae
Agarose and agaropectin - galactose polymers
Pectin- another component of plant cell walls
galacturonic acid polymer
Bacterial cell walls
An example of peptidoglycan in S. aureus
Heteropolysaccharides linked by peptides
(tetrapeptide and pentapeptide
Disaccharide unit has N-acetylmuramic acid
and N-acetylglucosamine

The structure of the
peptidoglycan structure of
bacterial cell wall of S.
aureus
Starch
Electron micrograph of starch
granules in plant cells
Has 2 forms amylose (10-30%)
and amylopectin (70-90%)
Amylose (1,4) links with one
reducing end
Amylopectin branches every 12-
30 residues
Branches provide a mechanism
for quickly releasing (or storing)
glucose units for (or from)
metabolism



Amylose and Amylopectin

The starch-iodine complex.
Amylose occurs as a helix with
six residues per turn. In the
starch-iodine complex, the
iodine molecules are parallel to
the long axis of the helix. Four
turns of the helix are shown
here. Six turns of the helix,
containing 36 glucosyl residues,
are required to produce the
characteristic blue color of the
complex.

Glycogen
Electron micrograph of
glycogen granules in animal
cells
constitutes up to 10% of liver
mass and 1-2% of muscle
mass
is stored energy for the
organism
Highly branched structure
branches every 8-12 residues

A comparison of the degrees of branching in amylopectin and glycogen.

Glycosaminoglycans
Polysaccharide in which one of the sugars in
the repeating disaccharide is an amino sugar
and the other sugar is negatively charge due
to a sulfate or a carboxylic group
Components of proteoglycans
Serve important functions in cells and tissues

glycosaminoglycans
Chondroitin sulfates and keratan sulfate
components of connective tissues;
Heparin a natural anticoagulant, prevents
blood clot
Hyaluronic acid a component of vitreous
humor of the eye and the lubricating fluid of
the joints
Proteoglycans
A family of glycoproteins whose carbohydrate moeities
are predominantly glycosaminoglycans attached to ser
residues in the protein
Functions interact with other molecules through
receptor domains in the cell membrane; link components
in the extracellular matrix; binds cells in the extracellular
matrix; modulate cell growth processes
Examples
Versican has 2409 amino acid residues
Serglycin has alternatin ser and gly residues
Decorin small proteoglycan secreted by fibroblast and
found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissues
Syndecan transmembrane proteoglycan
Cartilage proteoglycan responsible for flexibility and
resiliency


Proteoglycans
Hyaluronicacid
forms the
backbone of
proteoglycan
structures such
as those found in
cartilage.
Glycoproteins
Glycoproteins contain carbohydrate units
covalently bonded to a polypeptide chain
antibodies are glycoproteins
Oligosaccharide portion of glycoproteins act as
antigenic determinants
Among the first antigenic determinants discovered
were the blood group substances
In the ABO system, individuals are classified according
to four blood types: A, B, AB, and O
At the cellular level, the biochemical basis for this
classification is a group of relatively small membrane-
bound carbohydrates

Glycoproteins
Fish in the
Antartic is
prevented from
freezing
because of this
glycoprotein
Glycoproteins as antigen determinants
(distinction between blood group
types depend on the oligosaccharide