Scientifi c interest and curiosity for proteoglycan research has dramatically increased over the past decades, these molecules being no more considered as a scaffold for the cells of a given tissue, but more as a reservoir for growth factors and cytokines modulating their activation status and turnover. For example, heparin and other related heparan sulfate molecules are increasingly being recognized as important modulators of many signaling pathways. The evolution and accuracy of methodologies specifi c to their complex structure allow a better knowledge of their structure together with a more precise defi nition of their functions and involvement in physiology and pathologies. The huge increase of original research articles.
