Definition of "glycosaminoglycan"

glycosaminoglycan

noun
plural glycosaminoglycans
1. (biochemistry) Any polysaccharide that is a polymer of amino sugars; they are the carbohydrate units of proteoglycans.
  Quotations
  Subcellular fractionation techniques have indicated that the greatest percentage of these glycosaminoglycans that is not extracted with water is contained within the microsomal fraction (36-60%).
  1982, Stanislav Reinis, Jerome Goldman, The Chemistry of Behavior: A Molecular Approach to Neuronal Plasticity, page 229
  The biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans appears to be a ubiquitous function in mammalian cells.
  1998, Christopher C. Rider, 9: Analysis of Glycosaminoglycans and Proteoglycans, Elizabeth F. Hounsell (editor), Glycoanalysis Protocols, 2nd Edition, page 131
  The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a group of inherited disorders caused by specific enzyme deficiencies in the degradation of the glycosaminoglycans (mucopolysaccharides).
  2008, Reuben Matalon, Kimberlee Michals Matalon, Gita Bhatia, “Chapter 22: The Mucopolysaccharidoses and the Mucolipidoses”, in Roger N. Rosenberg, editor, The Molecular and Genetic Basis of Neurologic and Psychiatric Disease, 4th edition, page 245