Sugary secrets of a cancer-related protein

(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Proteins in human cells are decorated with different types of sugars, a phenomenon called glycosylation. These modifications greatly increase the diversity of protein structure and function, affecting how proteins fold, how they behave, and where they go in cells. New research that will be published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on Sept. 22 demonstrates that a rare type of glycosylation profoundly affects the function of a protein important for human development and cancer progression.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news