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. 2007 Jan 26;454(3):345–359. doi: 10.1007/s00424-007-0212-8

Table 2.

Composition of the disaccharides of various glycosaminoglycan chains

  Heparan sulfate Chondroitin sulfate Dermatan sulfatea Hyaluronan Keratan sulfate
Uronic acid GlcA(2S) IdoA(2S) GlcA GlcA IdoA(2S) GlcA Gal(6S)
Disaccharide link 1β4 1β3 1β3 1β3 1β4
Hexosamine GlcNAc(NS)(3S)(6S) GalNAc4Sa GalNAc6Sa GalNAc(4S)(6S) GlcNAc GlcNAc(6S)
Polymerization link 1β4 1β4 1β4 1β4 1β3

Note the various possibilities of sulfation in heparan sulfate. These may coincide (e.g., in heparan sulfate the hexosamine GlcNS3S). A rare but possible hexosamine in heparan sulfate is the N-unsubstituted glucosamine Inline graphic which has been left out of the table for convenient reading. Also note the presence of IdoA in dermatan sulfate, in contrast to the other chondroitin sulfates, making it more alike to heparan sulfate.

GlcA Glucuronic acid, IdoA iduronic acid, Gal galacturonic acid, GlcNAc N-acetyl-glucosamine, GalNAc N-acetyl-galactosamine, 2S 2-O-sulfated, 3S 3-O-sulfated, 4S 4-O-sulfated, 6S 6-O-sulfated, NS N-sulfated

aThere are three types of chondroitin sulfate. Type A only has 4-O-sulfated N-acetyl-galactosamines, type B is known as dermatan sulfate and type C only has 6-O-sulfated N-acetyl-galactosamines.