Heteropolyseccharide

Dr. waseem kausar

IMDC
biochemistry
 Heteropolysaccharides (Heteroglycan)
mucopolysaccharides(glycosaminoglycans)
• COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES(different types of
monosaccharides or their derivatives)
• usually composed of AMINO SUGARS (hexosamine)&
URONIC ACID units as principal components
• some are composed of AMINO SUGARS without uronic
acids
• These are essential component of tissues, either free or
with proteins
• Provide ground substance
• Having more OH groups and – ve charge on them,
holding large quantity of water so having cushioning or
lubricating other structures. 2
 Conti-
• Glycoproteins
protein (> 96 % protein) with branched or
unbranched oligosec-. carbohydrate < 4%.
perform a variety of functions, which include
enzymes, hormones, receptors, structural proteins
and transport proteins. 
• Proteoglycans or Mucoproteins or Mucoids. (GAG)
They are those glycoprotein in which the
carbohydrate > 4%. 
Peptidoglycan
• A rigid component of bact-
cell.
• polymer of GlcNAc & MurAc.
• Lies side by side, cross linked
by short peptides(provides
strength and prevent cell
swelling)
• Lysozymes
 Agar
• a mixture of sulfated
heteropolysaccharides made up of D-
galactose and an L-galactose
derivative ether-linked between C-3
and C-6 .
• cell walls marine red algae and
seaweed.
• The two major components
unbranched polymer agarose and a
branched component, agaropectin.
• useful in the biochemistry laboratory.
• When a suspension of agarose in
water is heated and cooled, the
agarose forms a double helix: two
molecules in parallel orientation twist
together with a helix repeat of three
residues; water molecules are trapped
in the central cavity
Carbohydrates found in glycoprotein
 Glycosaminoglycans

• special ability to bind large amounts

of water, thereby producing the gel-
like matrix that forms the basis of
the body's ground substance,
which, along with fibrous
components such as collagen, make
up the extracellular matrix.
• The viscous, lubricating properties
of mucous secretions also result
from the presence of
glycosaminoglycans, which led to
the original naming of these
compounds as
mucopolysaccharides.
 MPS
• 1, Neutral
• 2, Acidic
» a, sulphate free
» b, sulphate containing

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Sulphate containing
Chondroitin 4 and 6 sulphates

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• Repeating D/s consisting of N-acetyl
glucosamine & galactose
• No uronic acid
• Keratan SO4 1( link b/w N-acetyl glucosamine
and aspargine is N- glycosidic)
• Keratan SO411(link to protein is O- glycosidic)
• Found in cornea
Heparin
• Anticoagulant
• Produced by mast cells
• Polymer of D – glucosamine(N-
Glu) and either of the two
uronic acid D(Glc UA) or
L(IDUA)
• Strongly acidic
Acidic sulphate free
1, hyaluronic acid

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 2, chondroitin

It is found in cornea, also isolated in cranial cortilages, it contains N- acetyl

galactosamine

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 Neutral MPS
• These contains peptides or
amino acids with
carbohydrates
• Four m/s are found in all
types of Blood group
substances .e.g
galactose,fucos, acety-
glucosamine and acety-
galactoseamine.
 polysaccharides can be linked to other
molecules to form glyco-proteins and glyco-lipids
 Glycoproteins
Some examples
• Polysaccharide component of antibodies has major effect
on antibody function

• Polysaccharides attached to proteins on surface of red

blood cells (RBC) determine blood type (A,B,O)

• Polysaccharides are attached to proteins in the Golgi

apparatus through a process of post-translational
modification

• Different types of cells do different post-tranlational

modifications
– More about this later
 Glycolipids
• Polysaccharides can also be attached to lipid molecules

•An outer-membrane constituent of gram negative bacteria, LPS, which includes O-antigen, a core
polysaccharide and a Lipid A, coats the cell surface and works to exclude large hydrophobic compounds
such as bile salts and antibiotics from invading the cell. O-antigen are long hydrophilic carbohydrate
chains (up to 50 sugars long) that extend out from the outer membrane while Lipid A (and fatty acids)
anchors the LPS to the outer membrane.
 Glycolipids

• Polysaccharides (blue)
are also used in animal
cells to link surface
proteins and lipid
anchors to the
membrane.