Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are linear polymers of amino sugar uronic acid disaccharides, and are generally attached to protein cores to form proteoglycans. GAGs interact with a large number of proteins and can participate in matrix organization, cell adhesion, differentiation, growth and apoptosis. Proteoglycans are expressed in tightly regulated spatio-temporal patterns during organ development, and changes in expression frequently correlate with developmental events. Here we review the evidence that GAGs play important roles in the development of mouse kidneys, which are organs that will undergo organotypic development in simple culture conditions and that are therefore highly accessible to experimentation. Depleting kidneys of GAGs, either biochemically or genetically, blocks the development of the urinary collecting-duct system, probably because critical signalling molecules require GAGs to form stable associations with their receptors. The in-sensitivity of GAG-deprived organ rudiments to physiological concentrations of growth factors can be used to screen candidate signalling molecules for morphoregulatory activity; candidate growth factors are applied at supraphysiological levels to GAG-deprived kidneys and assessed for their ability to rescue normal development. This approach has assisted the identification of four collecting-duct morphogens: hepatocyte growth factor, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, nerturin and persephin.
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Conference Article|
May 01 2001
Glycosaminoglycans in the study of mammalian organ development
J. A. Davies;
J. A. Davies
1
1Department of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, U.K.
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail Jamie.Davies@ed.ac.uk)
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C. E. Fisher;
C. E. Fisher
1Department of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, U.K.
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M. W. Barnett
M. W. Barnett
1Department of Anatomy, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, U.K.
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 12 2000
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2001 Biochemical Society
2001
Biochem Soc Trans (2001) 29 (2): 166–171.
Article history
Received:
December 12 2000
Citation
J. A. Davies, C. E. Fisher, M. W. Barnett; Glycosaminoglycans in the study of mammalian organ development. Biochem Soc Trans 1 May 2001; 29 (2): 166–171. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0290166
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