Carbohydrate\textendash Carbohydrate Interaction: From Hypothesis to Confirmation
Résumé
Carbohydrates play important roles in a wide range of biological processes. Since the first hypothesis about carbohydrate\textendash carbohydrate interaction (CCI) was proposed by Hakomori et al., an increasing interest has been placed on CCI, using a variety of techniques. Based on all these studies, Lewisx\textendash Lewisx interaction (a typical CCI) has been now confirmed to be specific, homotypic, and mediated by the presence of divalent cations such as Ca2+. In this review, a detailed overview of the process from hypothesis to confirmation of carbohydrate\textendash carbohydrate interaction is summarized.