Developing a Taste for Sweets

Lymphocytes are covered with sugars. Some of the oligosaccharides on lymphocytes may be recognized by specific lectins such as the selectins, but what other functions do all of these oligosaccharides serve? Two recent papers in Cell and Immunity describe a novel role for glycosylation in the thymus—regulating the interaction of MHC class I molecules with CD8 during thymocyte maturation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]