Hypertonic saline (HS) is used in sputum induction studies. However, little is known about the physiological effects of HS on human airways in vivo. The present study takes advantage of the fact that the airway effects of topical challenges may be accurately examined in the readily accessible nasal airway. The present study specifically examines whether exposure to HS affects histamine challeng...

Notch signaling is essential for lymphocyte development and is also implicated in myelopoiesis. Notch receptors are modified by O-fucosylation catalyzed by protein O-fucosyltransferase 1 (Pofut1). Fringe enzymes add N-acetylglucosamine to O-fucose and modify Notch signaling by altering the sensitivity of Notch receptors to Notch ligands. To address physiologic functions in hematopoiesis of Notc...

A fucose-containing exopolysaccharide (EPS) was produced by the bacterium Enterobacter A47 using glycerol byproduct from the biodiesel industry. The analysis of kinetic data suggested a partially growth associated EPS synthesis model. Although the EPS was composed of fucose, galactose and glucose at all cultivation stages, their relative proportion has varied considerably during the run. At the...

Macrophage receptors for the third component of complement (C3) are normally immobilized and unable to diffuse within the cell's plasma membrane and, even though they promote avid particle binding, are unable to promote phagocytosis of C3-coated particles. We have previously identified a lymphokine that activates macrophage C3 receptors for phagocytosis and have found that it acts by freeing th...

Glycosylation is an important posttranslational protein modification in all eukaryotes. Besides glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors and N-glycosylation, O-fucosylation has been recently reported in key sporozoite proteins of the malaria parasite. Previous analyses showed the presence of GDP-fucose (GDP-Fuc), the precursor for all fucosylation reactions, in the blood stages of Plasmodium ...

The monosaccharide L-fucose (L-Fuc) is a common component of plant cell wall polysaccharides and other plant glycans, including the hemicellulose xyloglucan, pectic rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) and rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II), arabinogalactan proteins, and N-linked glycans. Mutations compromising the biosynthesis of many plant cell wall polysaccharides are lethal, and as a result, small molecu...

Studying genetic disorders in model organisms can provide insights into heritable human diseases. The Drosophila neurally altered carbohydrate (nac) mutant is deficient for neural expression of the HRP epitope, which consists of N-glycans with core α1,3-linked fucose residues. Here, we show that a conserved serine residue in the Golgi GDP-fucose transporter (GFR) is substituted by leucine in na...

Sugar nucleotides are Drecursors of sugar moieties in obtained bv others in brain and kidney (Gielen et al., 1970 glycGlipids and glycoproteins and thus may have a regulatory role in the metabolism of these macromolecules. We have therefore studied the subcellular localization of four sugar nucleotide synthetases. The pyrophosphorylases of GDP-fucose, GDP-mannose, and UDP-glucose were detected ...

Catabolism of the six-carbon compound L-fucose results in formation of dihydroxyacetone phosphate (C-1-to-C-3 fragment) and L-lactaldehyde (C-4-to-C-6 fragment) as intermediates. The fate of lactaldehyde depends on the respiratory growth conditions. Aerobically, lactaldehyde is oxidized to L-lactate by an NAD-linked dehydrogenase (ald product). L-Lactate, in turn, is converted to pyruvate, whic...

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfates (fCSs) are structurally unusual glycosaminoglycans isolated from sea cucumbers that exhibit potent anticoagulant activity. These fCSs were isolated from sea cucumber, Isostichopus badionotus and Pearsonothuria graeffei. Fenton reaction followed by gel filtration chromatography afforded fCS oligosaccharides, with different sulfation patterns identified by mass an...