Term: proteoglycan https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04899 Definition: A subclass of protein in which the carbohydrate units are polysaccharides that contain amino sugars. The protein is glycosylated by one or more (up to about 100) glycosaminoglycans [linear polymers of up to about 200 repeating disaccharide units that consist of a hexosamine (d-glucosamine or d-galactosamine) alternating with a uronic acid (d-glucuronic or l-iduronic) or a neutral sugar (d-galactose)]. Related Terms: 1) polysaccharides (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04752). 2) amino sugars (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00283). 3) glycosaminoglycans (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.G02659). Source: PAC, 1988, 60, 1389. 'Nomenclature of glycoproteins, glycopeptides and peptidoglycans (Recommendations 1985)' on page 1391 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac198860091389) Citation: 'proteoglycan' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04899 License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms. Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.