They appeared to have changed in ways that made it easier for malignant cells to prosper and spread the cancer. Varki began looking for answers, only to discover that hardly anyone else was even asking the same questions. Undaunted, he embraced the challenge, switching to a field of medical research that at the time didn't even have a name. We're beginning to see that sugars in combination with lipids and proteins have significant roles in disease states. The work has come together here in San Diego because people like Varki were able to attract and recruit groups of people with different specialties who were eager and able to tackle the job.
Researchers now realize that cells employ sugars for a variety of purposes.
Glycans regulate genes by sending signals from the cell surface, direct proteins to proper places, and mediate interactions between cells. Glycans represent some of the crucial ties that bind cells together and protect even single-celled creatures such as amoebae and bacteria. In the human body, healthy cells wage constant war against endlessly invading waves of bacteria, parasites and viruses. Among their defenses are various glycans lying tangled and convolute upon the surface of cells. Most bacteria, for example, must find a way to latch onto a cell to survive and thrive.