Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jun 18;24(12):10296.
doi: 10.3390/ijms241210296.

Hyaluronic Acid: A Powerful Biomolecule with Wide-Ranging Applications-A Comprehensive Review

Giorgia Natalia Iaconisi  1 , Paola Lunetti  1 , Nunzia Gallo  2 , Anna Rita Cappello  3 , Giuseppe Fiermonte  4 , Vincenza Dolce  3 , Loredana Capobianco  1
Affiliations
Review

Hyaluronic Acid: A Powerful Biomolecule with Wide-Ranging Applications-A Comprehensive Review

Giorgia Natalia Iaconisi et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan widely distributed in the human body, especially in body fluids and the extracellular matrix of tissues. It plays a crucial role not only in maintaining tissue hydration but also in cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and the inflammatory response. HA has demonstrated its efficacy as a powerful bioactive molecule not only for skin antiaging but also in atherosclerosis, cancer, and other pathological conditions. Due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and non-immunogenicity, several HA-based biomedical products have been developed. There is an increasing focus on optimizing HA production processes to achieve high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective products. This review discusses HA's structure, properties, and production through microbial fermentation. Furthermore, it highlights the bioactive applications of HA in emerging sectors of biomedicine.

Keywords: bioactive molecule; biomaterial; bioproduction; fermentation processes; hyaluronic acid; metabolic pathways.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of disaccharide repeating unit of HA. The unit of HA is composed of β-(1,4)-glucuronic acid and β-(1,3)-N-acetylglucosamine linked together by β-1,3 and β-1,4 glycosidic bonds. The molecular weight of this molecule depends on the number of repetitions of the disaccharide unit (n).
Figure 2
Figure 2
HA biosynthetic pathway in S. zooepidemicus.
Figure 3
Figure 3
HAS structure. (A) The Type I HAS is an integral membrane protein that catalyzes the adding of UDP-GA and UDP-NAG to the HA growing chain. (B) The Type II HAS is a membrane-associated protein composed of A1 and A2 domains that work together as a single peptide. The A1 domain is a β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminil-transferase, while the A2 domain is a β-1,3-glucuronyl-transferase.
Figure 4
Figure 4
HA: a powerful bioactive molecule. Schematical representation of the most important HA applications in the health-related sector.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stern R., Asari A.A., Sugahara K.N. Hyaluronan fragments: An information-rich system. Eur. J. Cell Biol. 2006;85:699–715. doi: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2006.05.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li Z., Tao L., Yinhong X., Zheng Z., Junying C. A new classification method of nanotechnology for design integration in biomaterials. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2020;9:820–832. doi: 10.1515/ntrev-2020-0063. - DOI
    1. Xing F., Li L., Zhou C., Long C., Wu L., Lei H., Qingquan K., Fan Y., Xiang Z., Zhang X. Regulation and directing stem cell fate by tissue engineering functional microenvironments: Scaffold physical and chemical cues. Stem Cells Int. 2019;2019:16. doi: 10.1155/2019/2180925. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cowman M.K., Schmidt T.A., Raghavan P., Stecco A. Viscoelastic Properties of Hyaluronan in Physiological Conditions. F1000Research. 2015;4:622. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.6885.1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kandasamy G., Annenkov V., Krishnan U.M. Nanoimmunotherapy—Cloaked defenders to breach the cancer fortress. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2018;7:317–340. doi: 10.1515/ntrev-2018-0013. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources