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Specificities of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in developmental processes

Nature volume 404, pages 725–728 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

Heparan sulphate proteoglycans are abundant cell-surface molecules that consist of a protein core to which heparan sulphate glycosaminoglycan chains are attached. The functions of these molecules have remained mostly underappreciated by developmental biologists; however, the actions of important signalling molecules, for example Wnt and Hedgehog, depend on them. To understand both the mechanisms by which ligands involved in development interact with their receptors and how morphogens pattern tissues, biologists need to consider the functions of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in signalling and developmental patterning.

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Figure 1: Scheme of HS chain biosynthesis.
Figure 2: Depiction of HSPGs associated with cell surfaces.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NIH (MB). N.P. is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts , USA

    Norbert Perrimon

  2. Departments of Pediatrics and Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Merton Bernfield

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Perrimon, N., Bernfield, M. Specificities of heparan sulphate proteoglycans in developmental processes . Nature 404, 725–728 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35008000

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