A comprehensive overview of substrate specificity of glycoside hydrolases and transporters in the small intestine: “A gut feeling”

The human body is able to process and transport a complex variety of carbohydrates, unlocking their nutritional value as energy source or as important building block. The endogenous glycosyl hydrolases (glycosidases) and glycosyl transporter proteins located in the enterocytes of the small intestine play a crucial role in this process and digest and/or transport nutritional sugars based on their structural features. It is for these reasons that glycosidases and glycosyl transporters are interesting therapeutic targets to combat sugar related diseases (such as diabetes) or to improve drug delivery. In this review we provide a detailed overview focused on the molecular structure of the substrates involved as a solid base to start from and to fuel research in the area of therapeutics and diagnostics.