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INTRODUCTION
Glycoprotein is proteins that contain covalently attached sugar residues. The hydrophilic and
polar characteristics of sugars may dramatically change the chemical characteristics of the
protein to which they are attached. The addition of sugars is often required for a
glycoprotein to function properly and reach its ultimate destination in the cell or organism.
Glycoproteins are frequently present at the surface of cells where they function as
membrane proteins or as part of the extracellular matrix. These cell surface glycoproteins
play a critical role in cell–cell interactions and the mechanisms of infection by bacteria and
viruses.
GLYCOSYLATION
Glycosylation is the process or result of addition of saccharides to proteins and lipids.
CLASSIFICATION
There are two major types of glycoproteins based on their structure and the mechanism of
synthesis: N-linked glycoproteins and O-linked glycoproteins.
Glycoprotein
N-linked Glycoprotein
• synthesized and modified within two membrane-bound organelles in the cell, the
rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus.
• important for the folding of some eukaryotic proteins. The N-linked glycosylation
process occurs in eukaryotes and widely in Achaea, but very rarely in bacteria.
• protein component of the glycoprotein is assembled on the surface of the rough
endoplasmic reticulum by the sequential addition of amino acids, creating a linear
polymer of amino acids called a polypeptide.
• the specific order of the amino acids in the polypeptide is critical to its function and
is referred to as the amino acid sequence
The twenty different amino acids can be used for the synthesis of polypeptides. One of the
twenty amino acids used for the synthesis of polypeptides, asparagine (C4H8N2O3), is
essential for the synthesis of N-linked glycoproteins.
O-linked Glycoproteins
O-linked glycoproteins are usually synthesized by the addition of sugar residues to the
hydroxyl side chain of serine or threonine residues in polypeptides in the Golgi apparatus.
Unlike N-linked glycoproteins, O-linked glycoproteins are synthesized by the addition of a
single sugar residue at a time. Many O-linked glycoproteins are secreted by the cell to
become a part of the extracellular matrix that surrounds it.
Nonenzymatic Glycosylation
BIOFUNCTION
Function Description
Structural molecule Collagen