Glycobiology and Medicine

Over the past decade significant advances in technology have opened up the field of glycobiology. In particular, improved methods for carbohydrate analysis have led to important biochemical observations demonstrating that sugars play crucial roles in human physiology. It is clear that many diseases are associated with characteristic changes in glycosylation and furthermore, the possibility of modulating glycan processing to treat disease is beginning to be realised. This volume summarises some of the important recent developments in "glycobiology and medicine. " We highlighted some of the numerous areas in which there are glycosylation dependant pathological mechanisms causing common diseases. The next decade will undoubtedly see novel diagnostic and therapeutic techniques originating from these observations. This will significantly enhance our ability to combat infection and diseases such as bacterial and viral infections, some cancers, glycolipid storage disorders, systemic autoimmune disease and disorders that involve cytokine related inflammatory mechanisms. These topics were discussed at the 6th Jenner Glycobiology and Medicine meeting. This meeting received a European Commission Education grant (No. HPCF-2002-00250). CONTENTS Glycosylation Dependent Bacterial Infections 1. A Sweet Coating-How Bacteria Deal with Sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Anthony P. Corfield, Rebecca Wiggins, Cathryn Edwards, Neil Myerscough, Bryan F. Warren, Peter Soothill, Michael R. Millar, and Patrick Horner 2. The Glycosylation of Airway Mucins in Cystic Fibrosis and Its Relationship with Lung Infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . Philippe Roussel and Genevieve Lamblin 3. Structural Basis for Bacterial Adhesion in the Urinary Tract. . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . Jenny Berglund and Stefan D.