Molecular Biology Of The Cell 6th Edition by Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, David Morgan, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, Peter Walter

Exercise 13

1 The glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide chains that are linked to specific core proteins to form the pro- teoglycan components of the extracellular space are highly negatively charged. How do you suppose these negatively charged polysaccharide chains help to estab- lish a hydrated gel-like environment around the cell? How would the properties of these molecules differ if the poly- saccharide chains were uncharged?