Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans in the Nervous System: Inhibitors to Repair
Figure 1
Schematic representation of individual proteoglycan molecules. (a) Members of the lectican family: aggrecan, brevican neurocan, and the three isotypes of versican, all share a similar homology, with a G1 domain at the N-terminus and a G3 domain at the C-terminus. The GAG side chain varies in number among the different lectican family members but is attached to the central core of the protein. (b) Phosphacan is a splice variant of the RPTP molecule, lacking the transmembrane and two intracellular domains, found in the RPTP molecule. (c) NG2 is a transmembrane proteoglycan that lacks homology to any of the other CSPGs. NG2 has two large extracellular domains separated by an extended region, where the GAGs are attached, a transmembrane domain and short cytoplasmic tail. NG2 can be cleaved by enzymes at the cell surface and released into the extracellular matrix (adapted and modified from [16, 18]).
