Recombinant production of proteoglycans and their bioactive domains.

Proteoglycans are ubiquitous dynamic molecules that are made up of a protein core to which specific linear glycosylation structures, known as glycosaminoglycans, have been covalently coupled. They have roles in many biological and pathological processes, which have been shown to be dependent on events involving the protein component and/or the glycosaminoglycan chains. This review focuses on the literature describing the recombinant expression and production of proteoglycans known to be present in the extracellular, cell surface and intracellular environments with an emphasis on how the structure of the molecule relates to its biological function and how this relationship has been explored using recombinant DNA technology for clinical applications.