To assess the importance of the glycocalyx in cardiac cells, isolated preparations of sinus node (SN), atrial working muscle (AM), false tendon (FT), and ventricular working muscle (VM) were studied electrophysiologically with intracellular electrodes and then structurally with the electron microscope. Twenty isolated canine right atria with attached ventricular tissue were arterially perfused ...

Four different types of lectin were applied to the rabbit conjunctiva and the lacrimal sac to examine the distribution of glycoconjugates. The conjunctival epithelium is comprised of goblet cells and nongoblet cells. The mucus granules of the goblet cells were stained with soybean agglutinin (SBA), and the cell body of the nongoblet cells was labeled with concanavalin A (Con A). The glycocalyx ...

The aim of this study was to examine morphologically the participation of extraradicular biofilm in refractory periapical periodontitis. Six teeth and five extruded root filling gutta-percha points associated with refractory periapical periodontitis were investigated by scanning electron microscope. In nine of 11 samples examined, bacterial biofilms were seen at the extraradicular area. The gut...

Experiments have consistently revealed the pivotal role of the endothelial glycocalyx layer in vasoregulation and the layer's contribution to mechanotransduction pathways. However, the exact mechanism by which the glycocalyx mediates fluid shear stress remains elusive. This study employs atomic-scale molecular simulations with the aim of investigating the conformational and orientation properti...

Sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectins (Siglecs) are members of the Ig superfamily that recognize sialic acid residues of glycoproteins. Siglec-E is a mouse CD33-related Siglec that preferentially binds to sialic acid residues of the cellular glycocalyx. Here, we demonstrate gene transcription and protein expression of Siglec-E by cultured mouse microglia. Siglec-E on microglia inhibited phagocyto...

Microglial cells are professional phagocytes of the CNS responsible for clearance of unwanted structures. Neuronal processes are marked by complement C1 before they are removed in development or during disease processes. Target molecules involved in C1 binding and mechanisms of clearance are still unclear. Here we show that the terminal sugar residue sialic acid of the mouse neuronal glycocalyx...

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood are known to adhere to the luminal surface of the microvasculature via receptor-mediated adhesion, which contributes to the spread of cancer metastasis to anatomically distant organs. Such interactions between ligands on CTCs and endothelial cell-bound surface receptors are sensitive to receptor-ligand distances at the nanoscale. The sugar-rich coating ex...

All cells, eukaryotic cells in particular, are covered with carbohydrates of enormous diversity. These are part of different glycoconjugates, which are embedded into the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane or associated to the glycocalyx of the cell. The glycocalyx is a highly complex sugar coating, which is typical and important for every eukaryotic cell. It can be considered to form an inter...

Vascular integrity or the maintenance of blood vessel continuity is a fundamental process regulated, in part, by the endothelial glycocalyx and cell-cell junctions. Defects in endothelial barrier function are an initiating factor in several disease processes including atherosclerosis, ischemia/reperfusion, tumor angiogenesis, cancer metastasis, diabetes, sepsis and acute lung injury. The glycos...