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Liu X, Gilbert RG. Normal and abnormal glycogen structure - A review. Carbohydr Polym 2024; 338:122195. [PMID: 38763710 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024]
Abstract
Glycogen, a complex branched glucose polymer, is found in animals and bacteria, where it serves as an energy storage molecule. It has linear (1 → 4)-α glycosidic bonds between anhydroglucose monomer units, with branch points connected by (1 → 6)-α bonds. Individual glycogen molecules are referred to as β particles. In organs like the liver and heart, these β particles can bind into larger aggregate α particles, which exhibit a rosette-like morphology. The mechanisms and bonding underlying the aggregation process are not fully understood. For example, mammalian liver glycogen has been observed to be molecularly fragile under certain conditions, such as glycogen from diabetic livers fragmenting when exposed to dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), while glycogen from healthy livers is much less fragile; this indicates some difference, as yet unknown, in the bonding between β particles in healthy and diabetic glycogen. This fragility may have implications for blood sugar regulation, especially in pathological conditions such as diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding/Zhongshan Biological Breeding Laboratory, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Centre for Nutrition & Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovations (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Robert G Gilbert
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding/Zhongshan Biological Breeding Laboratory, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology, College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; Centre for Nutrition & Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovations (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia.
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Liu J, Bai Y, Ji H, Wang Y, Jin Z, Svensson B. Controlling the Fine Structure of Glycogen-like Glucan by Rational Enzymatic Synthesis. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2021; 69:14951-14960. [PMID: 34847321 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c06531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Glycogen-like glucan (GnG), a hyperbranched glucose polymer, has been receiving increasing attention to generate synthetic polymers and nanoparticles. Importantly, different branching patterns strongly influence the functionality of GnG. To uncover ways of obtaining different GnG branching patterns, a series of GnG with radius from 22.03 to 27.06 nm were synthesized using sucrose phosphorylase, α-glucan phosphorylase (GP), and branching enzyme (BE). Adjusting the relative activity ratio of GP and BE (GP/BE) made the molecular weight (MW) distribution of intermediate GnG products follow two different paths. At a low GP/BE, the GnG developed from "small to large" during the synthetic process, with the MW increasing from 6.15 × 106 to 1.21 × 107 g/mol, and possessed a compact structure. By contrast, a high GP/BE caused the "large to small" model, with the MW reduction of GnG from 1.62 × 107 to 1.21 × 107 g/mol, and created a loose external structure. The higher GP activity promoted the elongation of external chains and restrained chain transfer by the BE to the inner zone of GnG, which would modulate the loose-tight structure of GnG. These findings provide new useful insights into the construction of structurally well-defined nanoparticles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jialin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Yuxiang Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Hangyan Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Yanli Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Zhengyu Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Synergetic Innovation Center of Food Safety and Nutrition, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Birte Svensson
- International Joint Laboratory on Food Safety, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
- Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Enzyme and Protein Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby DK-2800, Denmark
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Besford QA, Cavalieri F, Caruso F. Glycogen as a Building Block for Advanced Biological Materials. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2020; 32:e1904625. [PMID: 31617264 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201904625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Biological nanoparticles found in living systems possess distinct molecular architectures and diverse functions. Glycogen is a unique biological polysaccharide nanoparticle fabricated by nature through a bottom-up approach. The biocatalytic synthesis of glycogen has evolved over time to form a nanometer-sized dendrimer-like structure (20-150 nm) with a highly branched surface and a dense core. This makes glycogen markedly different from other natural linear or branched polysaccharides and particularly attractive as a platform for biomedical applications. Glycogen is inherently biodegradable, nontoxic, and can be functionalized with diverse surface and internal motifs for enhanced biofunctional properties. Recently, there has been growing interest in glycogen as a natural alternative to synthetic polymers and nanoparticles in a range of applications. Herein, the recent literature on glycogen in the material-based sciences, including its use as a constituent in biodegradable hydrogels and fibers, drug delivery vectors, tumor targeting and penetrating nanoparticles, immunomodulators, vaccine adjuvants, and contrast agents, is reviewed. The various methods of chemical functionalization and physical assembly of glycogen nanoparticles into multicomponent nanodevices, which advance glycogen toward a functional therapeutic nanoparticle from nature and back again, are discussed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quinn A Besford
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Francesca Cavalieri
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Frank Caruso
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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