Glycocalyx | EPFL Graph Search

The glycocalyx (: glycocalyces or glycocalyxes), also known as the pericellular matrix and sometime cell coat, is a glycoprotein and glycolipid covering that surrounds the cell membranes of bacteria, epithelial cells, and other cells. It was described in a review article in 1970. Animal epithelial cells have a fuzz-like coating on the external surface of their plasma membranes. This viscous coating is the glycocalyx that consists of several carbohydrate moieties of membrane glycolipids and glycoproteins, which serve as backbone molecules for support. Generally, the carbohydrate portion of the glycolipids found on the surface of plasma membranes helps these molecules contribute to cell–cell recognition, communication, and intercellular adhesion. The glycocalyx is a type of identifier that the body uses to distinguish between its own healthy cells and transplanted tissues, diseased cells, or invading organisms. Included in the glycocalyx are cell-adhesion molecules that enable cells to adhere to each other and guide the movement of cells during embryonic development. The glycocalyx plays a major role in regulation of endothelial vascular tissue, including the modulation of red blood cell volume in capillaries. The term was initially applied to the polysaccharide matrix coating epithelial cells, but its functions have been discovered to go well beyond that. The glycocalyx is located on the apical surface of vascular endothelial cells which line the lumen. When vessels are stained with cationic dyes such as Alcian blue stain, transmission electron microscopy shows a small, irregularly shaped layer extending approximately 50–100 nm into the lumen of a blood vessel. Another study used osmium tetroxide staining during freeze substitution, and showed that the endothelial glycocalyx could be up to 11 μm thick. It is present throughout a diverse range of microvascular beds (capillaries) and macrovessels (arteries and veins).

Probing the growth and mechanical properties of Bacillus subtilis biofilms through genetic mutation strategies

Chen Zhang, Lei Wang

Bacterial communities form biofilms on various surfaces by synthesizing a cohesive and protective extracellular matrix, and these biofilms protect microorganisms against harsh environmental conditions. Bacillus subtilis is a widely used experimental specie ...

KEAI PUBLISHING LTD2022

Size segregating intruders in oscillating shear cells.

Christophe Ancey, Tomás Alfredo Trewhela Palacios

Granular avalanches are prone to segregate their particles by their sizes, as a result of shearinduced dilatation. This mechanical response of the granular media facilitates small particle percolation through gaps (kinetic sieving), after which large parti ...

2018

Hypericin can cross barriers in the chicken's chorioallantoic membrane model when delivered in low-density lipoproteins

Georges Wagnières, Veronika Huntosova

Background: Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were used as a natural drug delivery system for the transport of hypericin (Hyp) in the bloodstream of the chicken's chorioallantoic membrane model (CAM). Hyp was chosen as a model for hydrophobic drug used in pho ...

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