Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) play a critical role in the binding and activation of growth factors in cell signal transduction required for biological development. A glycomics approach can be used to examine GAG content, composition, and structure in stem cells in order to characterize their general differentiation. Specifically, this method may be used to evaluate chondrogenic differentiations by profiling for the GAG content of the differentiated cells. Here, embryonic-like teratocarcinoma cells, NCCIT, a developmentally pluripotent cell line, were used as a model for establishing GAG glycomic methods, but will be easily transferrable to embryonic stem cell cultures.
