Gold Glyconanoparticles as Probes to Explore the Carbohydrate-Mediated Self-Recognition of Marine Sponge Cells

摘要

Cell aggregation in the red-beard marine sponge Microciona prolifera is mediated by a 2x10~4kDa proteoglycan-like macro-molecular aggregation factor (MAF),and is based on two highly polyvalent functional properties;a Ca~(2+)-dependent pro-teoglycan self-interaction and a Ca~(2+)-independent cell-binding activity.MAF,the first circular proteoglycan described,is composed of two N-glycosylated proteins,MAFp3 and MAFp4,with twenty units of each glycoprotein forming the central ring and the radiating arms,respectively.Each MAFp3 carries one or two copies of a 200 kDa acidic glycan,g-200,whereas each MAFp4 carries about 50 copies of a 6 kDa glycan,g-6.