# In vitro synthesis of recombinant heparan sulfate

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $463,744

## Abstract

Abstract
 This proposal is aimed to develop a method to synthesize structurally defined
heparan sulfated oligosaccharides as therapeutic agents. In the current funding cycle,
we propose to study the role of heparan sulfate in dampening inflammatory responses.
This project is a collaborative effort of three research groups, including Dr. Jian Liu
(University of North Carolina), Dr. Rafal Pawlinski (University of North Carolina), and Dr.
Ding Xu (State University of New York at Buffalo). Acetaminophen overdose causes
hepatocyte cell damage that triggers inflammatory responses for tissue repairing.
However, if this response overreacts, it causes to collateral damages to the liver issues,
leading to acute liver injury. Escalated liver injury leads to the failure of heart and lung,
and ultimately death. We discover a structurally homogeneous heparan sulfate
octadecasaccharide (18-mer) displays strong protection effect for the liver injury induced
by acetaminophen in a murine model. Three specific aims are proposed to understand
the details behind the 18-mer’s protection effect. Aim 1 is to determine the targets for
the effect of 18-mer. Aim 2 is to determine the structural selectivity of heparan sulfate for
the hepatoprotection effect using microarray analysis. Aim 3 is to determine the efficacy
for the delayed treatment for acetaminophen-induced liver injury with a goal to widen the
therapeutic window. Because uncontrolled inflammation is a major contributor to many
diseases, results from our studies will advance anti-inflammatory drug development
focusing heparan sulfate molecules.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10218239
- **Project number:** 5R01HL094463-12
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** JIAN LIU
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $463,744
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-02-13 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10218239

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10218239, In vitro synthesis of recombinant heparan sulfate (5R01HL094463-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10218239. Licensed CC0.

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