Understanding the biological role of the diverse oligosaccharides of
glycoproteins and glycolipids has been a major challenge in cell
biology. Glycosylation is an essential step during molecular recognition
and is involved in protein folding, sorting, targeting and intracellular
translocation. Further, glycoproteins of the cell membrane play a major
role in cell adhesion, hormone function, antibody action and signal
mediation. Current knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms
involved in these processes is presented.