Researchers show heparan sulfate adjusts functions of growth factor proteins
Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - 15:00
in Biology & Nature
When the human genome project produced a map of human genes, the number of genes in humans turned out to be relatively small, approximately the same number as in primitive nematode worms. The difference in complexity between human and primitive organisms results from the ways in which the functions of genes are elaborated, rather from just the number of genes. Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers are showing how heparan sulfate, a carbohydrate that is expressed on the surface of all human cells, adjusts the functions of growth factor proteins. These findings currently appear on-line in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
