Priming the cellular glycocalyx for neural development.

Glycans are important contributors to the development and function of the nervous system with enormous potential as therapeutic targets. However, a general lack of tools for tailoring the presentation of specific glycan structures on the surfaces of cells has left them largely unexplored in the biomedical context. In this Viewpoint, we briefly summarize the distinct challenges and complexities of the Glycome. We also highlight an emerging concept of cell surface engineering using synthetic nanoscale mimetics of native glycoconjugates to harness some of the unique biology of glycans, with an eye toward advancing stem cell-based neuroregenerative therapies.

聚糖对神经系统的发育和功能起着重要作用，作为治疗靶点具有巨大潜力。然而，由于普遍缺乏在细胞表面定制特定聚糖结构呈现方式的工具，在生物医学领域，聚糖在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。在这篇观点文章中，我们简要概述了糖组所面临的独特挑战和复杂性。我们还重点介绍了一个新兴概念，即利用天然糖缀合物的合成纳米模拟物进行细胞表面工程，以利用聚糖的一些独特生物学特性，旨在推动基于干细胞的神经再生疗法的发展。