Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans. (2022)
Journal Article
Parafioriti, M., Ni, M., Petitou, M., Mycroft‐West, C. J., Rudd, T. R., Gandhi, N. S., …Elli, S. (2023). Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans. Chemistry - A European Journal, 29(1), https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202202599

Infection of host cells by SARS-CoV-2 begins with recognition by the virus S (spike) protein of cell surface heparan sulfate (HS), tethering the virus to the extracellular matrix environment, and causing the subunit S1-RBD to undergo a conformational... Read More about Evidence for multiple binding modes in the initial contact between SARS-CoV-2 spike S1 protein and cell surface glycans..

The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models. (2021)
Journal Article
Davies, S., Mycroft-West, C., Pagani, I., Hill, H., Chen, Y., Karlsson, R., …Richardson, A. (2021). The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 660490. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2021.660490

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused a significant number of fatalities and worldwide disruption. To identify drugs to repurpose to treat SARS-CoV-2 infections, we established a screen to measure the di... Read More about The Hyperlipidaemic Drug Fenofibrate Significantly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Models..

Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin. (2019)
Journal Article
Devlin, A., Mycroft-West, C., Procter, P., Cooper, L., Guimond, S., Andrade De Lima, M., …Skidmore, M. (2019). Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin. Medicina, 55, 636 - 636. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55100636

Heparin is a vital pharmaceutical anticoagulant drug and remains one of the few naturally sourced pharmaceutical agents used clinically. Heparin possesses a structural order with up to four levels of complexity. These levels are subject to change bas... Read More about Tools for the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Heparin..

Changes in human intervertebral disc biochemical composition and bony end plates between middle and old age (2018)
Journal Article
Martins, D., de Medeiros, V., Wajchenberg, M., Paredes-Gamero, E., Andrade De Lima, M., Reginato, R., …Faloppa, F. (2018). Changes in human intervertebral disc biochemical composition and bony end plates between middle and old age. PloS one, 13, e0203932--e0203932. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203932

Objective
This study evaluates molecular, nutritional and biochemical alterations in human intervertebral discs between middle and old age.

Methods
Twenty-eight human lumbar intervertebral discs from donors were evaluated and separated into two... Read More about Changes in human intervertebral disc biochemical composition and bony end plates between middle and old age.

Heparin Oligosaccharides Have Antiarrhythmic Effect by Accelerating the Sodium-Calcium Exchanger (2018)
Journal Article
de Godoy, C., Vasques, Ê., Caricati-Neto, A., Tavares, J., Alves, B., Duarte, J., …dos Santos Tersariol, I. (2018). Heparin Oligosaccharides Have Antiarrhythmic Effect by Accelerating the Sodium-Calcium Exchanger. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2018.00067

Background: Blockage of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) is used to determine the role of NCX in arrhythmogenesis. Trisulfated heparin disaccharide (TD) and Low Molecular Weight Heparins (LMWHs) can directly interact with the NCX and accelerate its activ... Read More about Heparin Oligosaccharides Have Antiarrhythmic Effect by Accelerating the Sodium-Calcium Exchanger.

Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans (2018)
Journal Article
Rogerson, E., Pelletier, J., Acosta-Serrano, A., Rose, C., Taylor, S., Guimond, S., …Yates, E. (2018). Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans. Pathogens an international, open access journal of pathogens and pathogen-host interactions, 7, https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens7010032

Tsetse flies are the principal insect vectors of African trypanosomes-sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. One of the tsetse fly species, Glossina morsitans morsitans, is host to the parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, a major cause of African... Read More about Variations in the Peritrophic Matrix Composition of Heparan Sulphate from the Tsetse Fly, Glossina morsitans morsitans.

2, 3-Di-O-sulfo glucuronic acid: an unmodified and unusual residue in a highly sulfated chondroitin sulfate from Litopenaeus vannamei (2018)
Journal Article
Cavalcante, R., Brito, A., Palhares, L., Andrade De Lima, M., Cavalheiro, R., Nader, H., …Chavante, S. (2018). 2, 3-Di-O-sulfo glucuronic acid: an unmodified and unusual residue in a highly sulfated chondroitin sulfate from Litopenaeus vannamei. Carbohydrate Polymers, 183, 192--200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.12.018

The occurrence of a natural and unmodified highly sulfated chondroitin sulfate from Litopenaeus vannamei heads (sCS) is herein reported. Its partial digestion by Chondroitinases AC and ABC together with its electrophoretic migration profile revealed... Read More about 2, 3-Di-O-sulfo glucuronic acid: an unmodified and unusual residue in a highly sulfated chondroitin sulfate from Litopenaeus vannamei.

New applications of heparin and other glycosaminoglycans (2017)
Journal Article
Andrade De Lima, M., Rudd, T., & Yates, E. (2017). New applications of heparin and other glycosaminoglycans. Molecules, 22, 749--749. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22050749

Heparin, the widely used pharmaceutical anticoagulant, has been in clinical use for well over half a century. Its introduction reduced clotting risks substantially and subsequent developments, including the introduction of low-molecular-weight hepari... Read More about New applications of heparin and other glycosaminoglycans.

Atomic Details of the Interactions of Glycosaminoglycans with Amyloid-beta Fibrils (2016)
Journal Article
Stewart, K. L., Hughes, E., Yates, E. A., Akien, G. R., Huang, T., Andrade De Lima, M., …Middleton, D. A. (2016). Atomic Details of the Interactions of Glycosaminoglycans with Amyloid-beta Fibrils. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 138(27), 8328-8331. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b02816

The amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) comprise fibrillar amyloid-ß (Aß) peptides as well as non-protein factors including glycosaminoglycan (GAG) polysaccharides. GAGs affect the kinetics and pathway of Aß self-assembly and can... Read More about Atomic Details of the Interactions of Glycosaminoglycans with Amyloid-beta Fibrils.

Trisulfate disaccharide decreases calcium overload and protects liver injury secondary to liver ischemia/reperfusion (2016)
Journal Article
Vasques, E., Cunha, J., Coelho, A., Sampietre, S., Patzina, R., Abdo, E., …D’Albuquerque, L. A. (2016). Trisulfate disaccharide decreases calcium overload and protects liver injury secondary to liver ischemia/reperfusion. PloS one, 11, e0149630--e0149630. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149630

Background
Ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) causes tissue damage and intracellular calcium levels are a factor of cell death. Sodium calcium exchanger (NCX) regulates calcium extrusion and Trisulfated Disaccharide (TD) acts on NCX decreasing intracell... Read More about Trisulfate disaccharide decreases calcium overload and protects liver injury secondary to liver ischemia/reperfusion.

P2X 7 receptor activity regulation: the role of CD44 proteoglycan GAG chains (2015)
Journal Article
Moura, G., Lucena, S., Andrade De Lima, M., Nascimento, F., Gesteira, T., Nader, H., …Tersariol, I. (2015). P2X 7 receptor activity regulation: the role of CD44 proteoglycan GAG chains. Cell death and disease, https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2015.340

P2X7 receptors have received special attention in the literature for their involvement in several diseases characterized by inflammatory processes such as cancer, arthritis, neurodegenerative pathologies and chronic pains.

Post-translational allosteric activation of the P2X 7 receptor through glycosaminoglycan chains of CD44 proteoglycans (2015)
Journal Article
Moura, G., Lucena, S., Andrade De Lima, M., Nascimento, F., Gesteira, T., Nader, H., …Tersariol, I. (2015). Post-translational allosteric activation of the P2X 7 receptor through glycosaminoglycan chains of CD44 proteoglycans. Cell Death Discovery, 1, 15005--15005. https://doi.org/10.1038/cddiscovery.2015.5

Here, we present evidence for the positive allosteric modulation of the P2X7 receptor through glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in CHO (cell line derived from the ovary of the Chinese hamster) cells. The marked potentiation of P2X7 activity through GAGs in t... Read More about Post-translational allosteric activation of the P2X 7 receptor through glycosaminoglycan chains of CD44 proteoglycans.

SULF2 overexpression positively regulates tumorigenicity of human prostate cancer cells (2015)
Journal Article
Vicente, C., Andrade De Lima, M., Nader, H., & Toma, L. (2015). SULF2 overexpression positively regulates tumorigenicity of human prostate cancer cells. Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, 34, 25--25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-015-0141-x

Background
SULF2 is a 6-O-endosulfatase which removes 6-O sulfate residues from N-glucosamine present on heparan sulfate (HS). The sulfation pattern of HS influences signaling events mediated by heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) located on cell... Read More about SULF2 overexpression positively regulates tumorigenicity of human prostate cancer cells.