Sweet Science
Oligosaccharides play crucial roles in a variety of biological events such as cell-cell communications. For example, many of proteins in the living system are decorated with carbohydrate moieties, which mediate molecular recognition processes. In addition, recent evidence has demonstrated that oligosaccharides on neuronal cell membranes are targets for various proteins that are associated with serious diseases, e.g., Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Our research seeks the underlying molecular basis for the function of oligosaccharides, providing knowledge for the rational design of drugs and biomolecular engineering that contribute towards a detailed understanding of biological systems.