Carbohydrate-based therapeutics

Abstract In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the biological roles of carbohydrates and as a result it is now known that carbohydrates are involved in a vast array of disease processes. This review summarises progress in the development of carbohydrate-based therapeutics that involve: inhibition of carbohydrate-lectin interactions; immunisation, using monoclonal antibodies for carbohydrate antigens; inhibition of enzymes that synthesise disease-associated carbohydrates; replacement of carbohydrate-processing enzymes; targeting of drugs to specific disease cells via carbohydrate-lectin interactions; carbohydrate based anti-thrombotic agents.