Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans in the Nervous System: Inhibitors to Repair

Figure 2

Diagram of the sulfation patterns of the disaccharide unit of the GAG chain. Sulfation at different carbon atom positions in the GlcA and/or GalNAc saccharide unit is one of the major factors that influence the effects of the proteoglycan. Monosulfation can occur at position 4 of the GalNAc resulting in synthesis of CS-A GAG or position 6 of the GalNAc resulting in the synthesis of the CS-C GAG. Disulfation can also occur with sulfation of position 6 of the GalNAc and position 2 of the GlcA, resulting in synthesis of the CS-D GAG, or sulfation of positions 4 and 6 on the GalNAc saccharide unit resulting in formation of the CS-E GAG (adapted and modified from [16, 18]).