October 2008

• Bacterial glycans and mammalian lectins: A precarious balance

  Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) upregulates the soluble lectin RegIII which kills gram-positive bacteria in the intestines, whereas LPS-induced sepsis can be averted by the lectin-like domain of thrombomodulin.

  Original research paper: Nature, (24 August 2008)
  doi:10.1038/nature07250

• Protein O-glycosylation: Drosophila on acid

  O-glycan profiling of Drosophila melanogaster reveals a wide abundance of glucuronic acid and a concentration gradient of a fucosylated trisaccharide known to modify the Notch receptor.

  Original research paper: Journal of Biological Chemistry, (25 August 2008)
  doi:10.1074/jbc.M804925200