Conformational behavior of hyaluronan in relation to its physical properties as probed by molecular modeling

Hyaluronan (HA) is a linear charged polysaccharide whose structure is made up of repeating disaccharide units. Apparently conflicting reports have been published about the nature of the helical structure of HA in the solid state. Recent developments in the field of molecular modeling of polysacchari...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Glycobiology (Oxford) 2000-06, Vol.10 (6), p.587-594
Main Authors: Haxaire, K, Braccini, I, Milas, M, Rinaudo, M, Pérez, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbohydrate Conformation
Carbohydrate Sequence
Chemical Phenomena
Chemistry, Physical
Disaccharides - chemistry
Hyaluronic Acid - chemistry
Hydrogen Bonding
Models, Molecular
Molecular Sequence Data
Thermodynamics
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Summary:Hyaluronan (HA) is a linear charged polysaccharide whose structure is made up of repeating disaccharide units. Apparently conflicting reports have been published about the nature of the helical structure of HA in the solid state. Recent developments in the field of molecular modeling of polysaccharides offer new opportunities to reexamine the structural basis underlying the formation and stabilization of ordered structures and their interactions with counterions. The conformational spaces available and the low energy conformations for the disaccharide, trisaccharide, and tetrasaccharide segments of HA were investigated via molecular mechanics calculations using the MM3 force field. First, the results were used to access the configurational statistics of the corresponding polysaccharide. A disordered chain having a persistence length of 75 A at 25 degrees C is predicted. Then, the exploration of the stable ordered forms of HA led to numerous helical conformations, both left- and right-handed, having comparable energies. Several of these conformations correspond to the experimentally observed ones and illustrate the versatility of the polysaccharide. The double stranded helical forms have also been explored and theoretical structures have been compared to experimentally derived ones.
ISSN:0959-6658
1460-2423
DOI:10.1093/glycob/10.6.587