Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
cell recognition
Interaction between cells that is dependent upon specifi c adhesion events consist-
ing of multiple steps that involve, among others, carbohydrate- carbohydrate,
protein - carbohydrate, and/or protein - protein interactions.
cellulose
Linear polysaccharide made of
1,4 - linked
D
-glucose units. Single cellulose chains
aggregate to form immensely strong microfi brils.
β
cellulose synthase
UDP - glucose:
4 -
D
- glucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.12); membrane -
integral family 2 glycosyltransferase catalyzing the polymerization of
D
- glucose.
β
1,4 -
D
- glucan
β
ceramide
A sphingolipid consisting of a sphingoid linked to a fatty acid via an amide bond.
cerebellar hypoplasia
Condition caused by incomplete development of the cerebellum, which is often
found associated to hypotonia and psychomotor retardation.
C - H
/
interaction
A weak hydrogen -bond-like force occurring between positively polarized C- H
groups and an aromatic
π
π
- electron system. Protein - carbohydrate interactions fre-
quently involve C- H
/
π
interactions between the delocalized
π
-electron cloud of an
aromatic residue and aliphatic C-H patches of the sugar.
Chagas disease: American trypanosomiasis
A disease caused by the protozoal parasite
Trypanosoma cruzi
and transmitted by
Triatoma sp.
(or 'kissing' bug) taking a blood meal and releasing trypomastigotes
in its feces near the site of the bite wound. Most acute cases develop over a period
of a few weeks or months into an asymptomatic chronic form of the disease. Its
manifestations include cardiomyopathy (the most serious manifestation) and
pathologies of the digestive tract such as megaesophagus and megacolon. Chronic
Chagas disease can be fatal.
chemical mapping
A procedure for evaluating the contribution of carbohydrate hydroxy groups to the
stability of protein-carbohydrate complexes, by measuring changes in the Gibbs
free energy of binding resulting from site- specifi c chemical modifi cation of the
sugar. The most frequently used compounds are the monodeoxy, fl uorodeoxy and
O
- methyl derivatives.
chemical shift
The frequency at which a nucleus resonates when a magnetic fi eld is applied. This
NMR parameter is related to the chemical environment of the nucleus under
