<i>In silico</i> Study on Sulfated and Non-Sulfated Carbohydrate Chains from Proteoglycans in <i>Cnidaria</i> and Interaction with Collagen

Abstract

Proteoglycans and collagen molecules are interacting with each other thereby forming various connective tissues. The sulfation pattern of proteoglycans differs depending on the kind of tissue and/or the degree of maturation. Tissues from <i>Cnidaria</i> are suitable examples for exploration of the effects in relation to the presence and the absence of sulfate groups, when studying characteristic fragments of the long proteoglycan carbohydrate chains <i>in silico</i>. It has been described that a non-sulfated chondroitin appears as a scaffold in early morphogenesis of all nematocyst types in Hydra. On the other hand, sulfated glucosaminoglycans play an important role in various developmental processes of <i>Cnidaria</i>. In order to understand this biological phenomenon on a sub-molecular level we have analysed the structures of sulfated and non-sulfated proteoglycan carbohydrate chains as well as the structure of diverse collagen molecules with computational methods including quantum chemical calculations. The strong interactions between the sulfate groups of the carbohydrates moieties in proteoglycans and positively charged regions of collagen are essential in stabilizing various <i>Cnidaria</i> tissues but could hinder the nematocyst formation and its proper function. The results of our quantum chemical calculations show that the sulfation pattern has a significant effect on the conformation of chondroitin structures under study

A new transcriptome and transcriptome profiling of adult and larval tissue in the box jellyfish Alatina alata: an emerging model for studying venom, vision and sex

“…10 ) show that the minicollagens identified for A. alata cluster primarily with other Group 1 minicollagens. Of the additional nematogenesis related genes [ 17 , 61 , 62 , 70 – 74 ] expressed in this study, most were almost exclusively abundant in the tentacle (with adjoining pedalium base). They include “nematocyst outer wall antigen” (NOWA) (Fig.…”

Molecular Basis of the Receptor Interactions of Polysialic Acid (polySia), polySia Mimetics, and Sulfated Polysaccharides

“…As the MARCKS‐ED also comprises the aromatic amino acid (Phe), we turned our attention to the interaction of polySia with arginine, phenylalanine, and serine in the MARCKS‐ED. In this context, the strategic combination of methods led to new insight into molecular neurosciences, providing data that explained why bioactive compounds like cyclic and linear peptides or small organic molecules, especially polar molecules with partially equalized single and double bonds, can act as glycomimetics . The polySia mini‐receptors used in this study were derived from structural models of SHL‐1, as well as NMR and X‐ray models from α‐defensins HD5 and HNP 1, 2, and 3 .…”

The Sialic Acid-Dependent Nematocyst Discharge Process in Relation to Its Physical-Chemical Properties Is a Role Model for Nanomedical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Tools

“…The consistence of the collagen strands and of the nematogalectins which occur in the tubule walls [44,45] have to be studied on a sub-molecular level. This is also the case for the proteoglycans [36] in the nematocyst’s cell wall and the collagens in the exumbrella tissue of jellyfishes after their extraction. It turned out that biophysical methods which are based on QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) techniques are feasible and helpful tools (Table 1) for testing the state of the extracted collagen-strands of jellyfish exumbrella tissues (Table 1).…”

“…The collagen strands remain triple-stranded and are proper target-structures for the proteoglycan saccharide chains as shown in Figure 5. Therefore, this method is beside NMR, SPR and AFM experiments in combination with molecular modelling calculations [24,36,37] a valuable supporting technique when nematocyst-like medical devices have to be improved.…”

“…The chemical and mechanical properties of the nanomedical tools from cnidarian origin can be studied in an ideal way when using first the well described Hydra nematocysts as blueprints. We show here that classical physics in combination with structural biology and theoretic biochemistry [1,2,7,8,9,24,35,36,37,38,39,40,41] is essential for an accelerated biophysical development of new diagnostic strategies analyzing the spread of highly-malignant tumor cells. It has to be emphasized here that this is only possible with in intact nematocytes.…”