AFFINITY PURIFIED HEPARIN/HEPARAN SULFATE FOR CONTROLLING THE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF THE FGF RECEPTOR

摘要

Methods and compositions for modulating the activity of a FGF receptor in a mammal are disclosed. The methods and compositions utilize substantially purified heparin/heparan sulfate oligosaccharides (HS) that have high affinity for FGF7. HS that has high affinity for FGF7 has increased activity for promoting the formation of a ternary FGF/HS/FGFR complex. According to one embodiment of the invention, substantially purified HS is an octasaccharide having 7 or 8 sulfates and having predominant disaccharide composition of ΔHexA2SG1cN6S and a tri-sulfated disaccharide. Alternatively, the substantially purified HS is a longer oligosaccharide that contains an octasaccharide structural motif having 7 or 8 sulfates and having predominant disaccharide composition of ΔHexA2SG1cN6S and a tri-sulfated disaccharide.