Proteoglycans and their functions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Figure 1 Structure and components of glycosaminoglycan chains of proteoglycans. The disaccharide unit of glycosaminoglycan consists of epimers of uronic acid (GlcA, IdoA) or galactose and hexosamine (GlcNAc, GalNAc). The repeating disaccharide units in different types of glycosaminoglycan are shown with the potential sulfation positions. The different disaccharides types (∆di) of chondroitin sulfate family have abbreviated names, which are based on their different sulfation positions.