Glycosaminoglycan News and Research

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Glycosaminoglycan is a type of long, unbranched polysaccharide molecule. Glycosaminoglycans are major structural components of cartilage and are also found in the cornea of the eye.

Ventana, Halozyme partner to develop companion diagnostic assay for cancer treatment

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. and Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, announced today a global agreement to collaborate on the development of, and for Ventana to ultimately commercialize, a companion diagnostic assay for use with Halozyme's investigational new drug, PEGPH20

30 May 2015

RepliCel submits CTA for RCS-01 study to treat patients suffering from aged, UV-damaged skin

RepliCel Life Sciences Inc., a clinical stage regenerative medicine company focused on the development of autologous cell therapies, today announced the submission of a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) to the German Competent Authority, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), requesting clearance to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial investigating the use of RCS-01 to treat patients suffering from aged and UV-damaged skin.

23 Feb 2015

Anika Therapeutics receives marketing approval from FDA for MONOVISC injection

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. today announced it has received marketing approval for MONOVISC from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. MONOVISC is a single injection supplement to synovial fluid of the osteoarthritic joint, used to treat pain and improve joint mobility in patients suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

26 Feb 2014

libragen contributes to success of PolyModE

libragen, a contract research organization dedicated to biocatalysis and metagenomics, has been a major contributor to the success of PolyModE (Polysaccharide Modifying Enzymes), a large collaborative research project funded by the European Community. The project, which began in 2009 and ended in April this year, looked at developing novel polysaccharide modifying enzymes for the optimized use of hydrocolloids as, for example, food additives or novel therapeutic agents in the food sciences and medical industries. Researchers focused on six industry-targeted hydrocolloids (alginates, carrageenans, chitosans, glycosaminoglycans, pectins, and xanthan gums) where traditional chemistry fails to achieve a certain desired modification.

2 Oct 2013

Study shows how to defeat chemotherapy barrier in pancreatic cancer

Scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have discovered a literal 'break through' in pancreatic cancer.

21 Mar 2012

FHCRC research represents potential breakthrough in treatment of pancreas cancer

Pancreas cancer tumors spread quickly and are notoriously resistant to treatment, making them among the deadliest of malignancies. Their resistance to chemotherapy stems in part from a unique biological barrier the tumor builds around itself. Now scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have found a way to break through that defense, and their research represents a potential breakthrough in the treatment of pancreas cancer.

20 Mar 2012

Scientists determine structure of GAG proteoglycan

If genes provide the blueprint for life and proteins are the machines that do much of the work for cells, then carbohydrates that are linked to proteins are among the tools that enable cells to communicate with the outside world and each other. But until now, scientists have been unable to determine the structure of a biologically important so-called GAG proteoglycan-or even to agree whether these remarkably complex molecules have well-defined structures.

19 Oct 2011

Dermatan sulfate holds potential as an additional biomarker for Sanfilippo disease

Sanfilippo disease is a rare disorder caused by the failure of enzymes to break down specific kinds of complex carbohydrates, resulting in their accumulation in cells and often severe physical and neurological problems - and sometimes early death.

1 Mar 2011

Contribution of glycosaminoglycans to skeletal abnormalities in patients with lysosomal storage diseases demonstrated

A group led by Dr. Dieter Br-mme at the University of British Columbia has demonstrated that glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) contribute to skeletal abnormalities in patients with lysosomal storage diseases. Their report can be found in the November 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

21 Oct 2009

New tissue scaffold stimulates bone and cartilage growth

MIT engineers and colleagues have built a new tissue scaffold that can stimulate bone and cartilage growth when transplanted into the knees and other joints.

12 May 2009

New imaging technique catches arthritis early

You come into a doctor's office with severe knee pain. The physician orders an MRI, which reveals substantial loss of cartilage - osteoarthritis, that is - in your knee joint. At this point, not much can be done beyond gulping down palliatives and trying to keep your weight off the joint. But the damage may have started building as much as 20 years earlier, possibly due to a traumatic injury to the affected joint.

29 Jan 2009

Stem cells from umbilical cord blood may help build new heart valves

Children with heart defects may someday receive perfectly-matched new heart valves built using stem cells from their umbilical cord blood, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

11 Nov 2008

Vitamin A Retinol lotion helps reduce wrinkles associated with aging

Applying vitamin A to the skin appears to improve the wrinkles associated with natural aging and may help to promote the production of skin-building compounds, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 May 2007

Saccharide complexes improve binding of Pentosanpolysulfate and Heparin to bladder epithelium

Anionic glycosaminoglycans including pentosanpolysulphate (PPS) and heparin show weak or no staining of the bladder epithelium and thus do not bind to human or rabbit bladder epithelium in any appreciable amounts.

17 Apr 2006

Increased physical activity may strenghten adult joint cartilage

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of disability among adults. As the population ages, increased intervention efforts are vital to controlling the individual and public health toll of this chronic, crippling joint disease.

30 Oct 2005

Trial of new type of drug that attacks amyloid

Neuroscientists at the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia will begin a clinical trial testing a new type of drug that attacks amyloid, the protein substance that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients.

4 Nov 2004