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Proteoglycans in brain development and pathogenesis
Author(s) -
Schwartz Nancy B.,
Domowicz Miriam S.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.13026
Subject(s) - proteoglycan , axon guidance , synaptogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , neurite , biology , neuroscience , perineuronal net , nervous system , extracellular matrix , cell , glycosaminoglycan , axon , anatomy , biochemistry , in vitro
Proteoglycans are diverse, complex extracellular/cell surface macromolecules composed of a central core protein with covalently linked glycosaminoglycan ( GAG ) chains; both of these components contribute to the growing list of important bio‐active functions attributed to proteoglycans. Increasingly, attention has been paid to the roles of proteoglycans in nervous tissue development due to their highly regulated spatio/temporal expression patterns, whereby they promote/inhibit neurite outgrowth, participate in specification and maturation of various precursor cell types, and regulate cell behaviors like migration, axonal pathfinding, synaptogenesis and plasticity. These functions emanate from both the environments proteoglycans create around cells by retaining ions and water or serving as scaffolds for cell shaping or motility, and from dynamic interactions that modulate signaling fields for cytokines, growth factors and morphogens, which may bind to either the protein or GAG portions. Also, genetic abnormalities impacting proteoglycan synthesis during critical steps of brain development and response to environmental insults and injuries, as well as changes in microenvironment interactions leading to tumors in the central nervous system, all suggest roles for proteoglycans in behavioral and intellectual disorders and malignancies.