polysaccharide

New polysaccharide may help combat multidrug resistance in cancer

...lina noticed that small pieces, or oligomers, of a polysaccharide called hyaluronan were able to sensitize drug-resi...erent chemotherapeutic drugs. He believed that the polysaccharide oligomers were binding to a receptor for hyaluronan (called CD44) and preventing it from initiating ...

A slight difference and significant similarities

...iree potatoes, which have a very high level of the polysaccharide inulin, with five conventional varieties. Inulin i...ce of any new, unexpected substances. Inulin is a polysaccharide that is formed as a storage molecule in many plants such as chicory, artichokes and dandelions. Two ...

CO2 sensing proves critical for fungal pathogens to adapt to life in air and human hosts

...or role, whereas for C. neoformans, synthesis of a polysaccharide capsule is key. In the bodies of mammals, the CO2 concentration is more than 150-fold higher (5%) than it is in atmospheric air (0.033%). Consequently, C. albicans and C. neoformans are exposed to dramatically elevated CO2 concentrations when causi...

Outsmarting the smartie bug

..., shows how the target of the vaccines, called the polysaccharide capsule, has evolved and allows the researchers to determine functions of the genes involved. The polysaccharide capsule forms a sugary coat around the bacterium and changing the structure of the capsule can help ...

Gut microbes' partnership helps body extract energy from food, store it as fat

...saccharides. Accumulation of such byproducts slows polysaccharide digestion. Samuel and Gordon speculated that M. sm...eceived increased amounts of formate, a product of polysaccharide fermentation that it covets and uses. "The presence M. smithii improved the overall efficiency of t...

Edible coatings will be the packaging of the future

...ncorporated into the milk serum protein. This is a polysaccharide that grows in dry and semi-arid regions of the north of Mexico. The result is a compound film that is resistant and that maintains suitable mechanical properties. The use of mesquite gum is an economical and efficacious alternative with a promising f...