Structure and metabolism of sulphated glycosaminoglycans in cultures of human fibroblasts. Structural characteristics of co-polymeric galactosaminoglycans in sequential extracts of fibroblasts during pulse-chase experiments.

1. Human embryonic lung and skin fibroblasts were allowed to incorporate 32SO42- or 35SO42- and D-[1-3H]glucosamine. After removal of the medium the monolayer was subjected to sequential extractions by using EDTA, brief trypsin digestion, extraction with dithiothreitol ofllowed by freeze--thawing and extraction with trichloroacetic acid. The heparan sulphate and galactosaminoglycan contents of the various extracts were estimated after deaminative cleavage of the former component. Heparan sulphate was the major component of the trypsin digest, whereas galactosaminoglycans were the dominant component of other fractions. 2. Galactosaminoglycans of the various fractions were subjected to chemical (periodate oxidation/alkaline elimination) and enzymic (chondroitinase-AC and -ABC, as well as testicular hyaluronidase) degradations. Galactosaminoglycans from the insoluble cell fraction and the dithiothreitol extract contained larger amounts of L-iduronic acid than did those of other fractions. 3. Pulse-chase experiments were performed with and without replating of the cells at the start of the chase period. Radioactive glycans were isolated from the various extracts during the chase period. The half-lives of glycans of the insoluble cell fraction and the dithioreitol extract were shorter (5--8h) than were those of the trypsin digest and the EDTA extract (22h and 11h respectively). After replating of the cells in chase medium, radioactive cell-associated glycans were secreted from the cells and could be recovered in the trypsin digest, the EDTA extract and the medium. Furthermore, 35S/3H ratios of glycans from all these fractions decreased during the chase period. The following conclusions were reached. The insoluble cell fraction contains the synthesis pool and some structural material, whereas the soluble cell fraction is the storage and degradation pool. The dithiothreitol extract appears to contain the immediate precursors of secreted material. The trypsin-released glycans comprise structural components as well as material destined for pinocytosis or secretion into the medium. The EDTA extract is considered to consist of glycans en route to the medium. 4. The two presumptive precursor pools were preferentially depleted of L-iduronic acid-rich galactosaminoglycans during the chase. Glycans recovered from the trypsin digest, the EDTA extract and the medium during the chase contained larger amounts of periodate-resistant uronic acid residues (D-glucuronic acid and/or L-iduronic acid O-sulphate) than did their precursors. It is proposed that polymer-level modifications of secreted glycans are partly responsible for the results.     

In situ interaction of cartilage proteoglycans with matrix proteins

The interaction of proteoglycans with other matrix proteins via thiol-disulphide interchange was explored. Chick sternal cartilage was extracted with 4 M guanidine hydrochloride in the presence and absence of N-ethylmaleimide and the proteoglycans from the centrifugation A2 fractions were isolated. Those from extracts without N-ethylmaleimide were linked with reducible bonds with 10-15 proteins-glycoproteins including the link proteins, the 148 kDa and 36 kDa proteins. The same was observed with extracts of pig laryngeal and sheep nasal cartilage. The linked proteoglycans from sheep amounted to 2-3% of the extractable uronic acid and belonged to two populations. The major fraction was included by Sepharose 6B (Mr 110 000) had twice as long chondroitin sulphate chains, higher 4-sulphated residues and a high content of aspartic acid and leucine-rich protein. The larger proteoglycans had a size and composition similar to those of aggregating proteoglycans.     

Isolation of the major chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate proteoglycans from embryonic chicken retina

A technique is presented for the preparation of three major proteoglycans from 14-day embryonic chicken retinas following their culture overnight with [35S]sulfate and either [3H]glucosamine or [3H]serine. Homogenization of the tissue in saline permitted extraction of heterogeneous soluble proteoglycans separately from most of the heparan sulfate proteoglycans. The latter were extracted from the 140,000g pellet with 0.5% Triton X-100 in 8 M urea. The medium plus the saline and urea-detergent extracts were separated from low-molecular-weight contaminants, and fractionated into two peaks of radioactivity on Sephacryl S-300 in saline with 3 M urea and 0.5% Triton X-100. The proteoglycans were isolated directly from these fractions on DEAE-Sephacel, and subjected to ultrafiltration concentration and then further purification on cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation in 4 M guanidine hydrochloride. A further step involving cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation was examined, but it resulted in essentially no further purification. The fractionations separated a large chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate proteoglycan from the culture medium that was excluded from S-300 and of low buoyant density; a large heparan sulfate proteoglycan from the urea-detergent extract that was also excluded from S-300 and of low buoyant density; and two smaller and possibly related heparan sulfate proteoglycans. One was found in the medium and showed low to intermediate buoyant density; the other was isolated from the urea-detergent extract and showed a significantly higher buoyant density, associated with a lower protein content. The saline extract contained both of the two larger proteoglycans and only minor amounts of the smaller molecules.     

The copolymeric structure of dermatan sulphate produced by cultured human fibroblasts. Different distribution of iduronic acid and glucuronic acid-containing units in soluble and cell-associated glycans.

The structure of dermatan [35S]sulphate-chondroitin [35S]sulphate copolymers synthesized and secreted by fibroblasts in culture was studied. 35S-labelled glycosaminoglycans were isolated from the medium, a trypsin digest of the cells and the cell residue after 72h of 35SO42-incorporation. The galactosaminoglycan component (dermatan sulphatechondroitin sulphate copolymers) was isolated and subjected to various degradation procedures including digestion with testicular hyaluronidase, chondroitinase-AC and-ABC and periodate oxidation followed by alkaline elimination. The galactosaminoglycans from the various sources displayed significant structural differences with regard to the distribution of various repeating units, i.e. IdUA-GalNAc-SO4 (L-iduronic acid-N-acetyl-galactosamine sulphate), GlcUA-GalNAc-SO4 (D-glucuronic acid-N-acetylgalactosamine-sulphate) and IdUA(-SO4)-GalNAc (L-iduronosulphate-N-acetylgalactosamine). The galactosaminoglycans of the cell residue contained larger amounts of IdUA-GalNAc-SO4 than did those isolated from the medium or those released by trypsin. In contrast, the glycans from the latter 2 sources contained large proportions of periodate-resistant repeat periods [GlcUA-GalNAc-SO4 and IdUA(-SO4)-GalNAc]. Periods containing L-iduronic acid sulphate were particularly prominent in copolymers found in the medium. Kinetic studies indicated that the 35S-labelled glycosaminoglycan of the cell residue accumulated radioactivity more slowly than did the glycans of other fractions, indicating that the material remaining with the cells was not exclusively a precursor of the secreted polymers. The presence of copolymers rich in glucuronic acid or iduronic acid sulphate residues in the soluble fractions may be the result of selective secretion from the cells. Alternatively, extracellular, polymer-level modifications such as C-5 inversion of L-iduronic acid to D-glucuronic acid, or sulphate rearrangements, would yield similar results.     

Proteoglycans in primate arteries. III. Characterization of the proteoglycans synthesized by arterial smooth muscle cells in culture

Near confluent monolayers of arterial smooth muscle cells derived from Macaca nemestrina were labeled with Na2[35S]O4 and the newly synthesized proteoglycans present in the culture medium and cell layer were extracted with either 4 M guanidine HCl (dissociative solvent) or 0.5 M guanidine HCl (associative solvent) in the presence of protease inhibitors. The proteoglycans in both compartments were further purified by cesium chloride density gradient ultracentrifugation. Two size classes of proteoglycans were observed in the medium as determined by chromatography on Sepharose CL-2B. The large population (Kav = 0.31) contained predominantly chondroitin sulfate chains with Mr = approximately 40,000. The smaller population (Kav = 0.61) contained dermatan sulfate chains of similar Mr (approximately 40,000). When tested for their ability to aggregate, only proteoglycans in the large-sized population were able to aggregate. A chondroitin sulfate containing proteoglycan with identical properties was isolated from the cell layer. In addition, the cell layer contained a dermatan sulfate component which eluted later on Sepharose CL-2B (Kav = 0.78) than the dermatan sulfate proteoglycan present in the medium. Electron microscopy of the purified proteoglycans revealed a bottlebrush structure containing a central core averaging 140 nm in length with an average of 8 to 10 side projections. The length of the side projections varied but averaged between 70 and 75 nm. Similar bottlebrush structures were observed in the intercellular matrix of the smooth muscle cell cultures after staining with Safranin 0. This culture system provides a model to investigate parameters involved in the regulation of synthesis and degradation of arterial proteoglycans.     

Proteoglycans of guinea-pig coastal cartilage. Fractionation and characterization.

Proteoglycans were extracted, in a yield of about 90%, from costal cartilage of young, growing guinea-pigs. Three solvents were used in sequence: 0.4 M guanidine - HCl, pH 5.8, 4 M guanidine - HCl, pH 5.8, and 4 M guanidine - HCl/0.1 M EDTA, pH 5.8. The proteoglycans were purified and fractionated by cesium chloride density gradient ultracentrifugation under associative and dissociative conditions. Gel chromatography on Sepharose 2 B of proteoglycan fractions from associative centrifugations showed the presence of both aggregated and monomer proteoglycans. The ratio of aggregates to monomers was higher in the second extract than in the other two extracts. Dissociative gradient centrifugation gave a similar distribution for proteoglycans from all three extracts. Thus, with decreasing buoyant density there were decreasing ratios of polysaccharide to protein, and of chondroitin sulfate to keratan sulfate. In addition, there was with decreasing density an increasing ratio of chondroitin 4-sulfate to chondroitin 6-sulfate. Amino acid analyses of dissociative fractions were inaccordance with previously published results. On comparing proteoglycan monomers of the three extracts, significant differences were found. Proteoglycans, extracted at low ionic strength, contained lower proportions of protein, keratan sulfate, chondroitin 6-sulfate and basic amino acids than those of the second extract. The proteoglycans of the third extract also differed from those of the other extracts. The results indicate that the proteoglycans of guinea-pig costal cartilage exist as a very polydisperse and heterogenous population of molecules, exhibiting variations in aggregation capacity, molecular size, composition of protein core, degree of substitution of the protein core, as well as variability in the type of polysaccharides substituted.     

Biosynthesis of proteoglycans by rat granulosa cells cultured in vitro.

Rat ovarian granulosa cells were isolated from immature female rats after stimulation with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin and then maintained in culture. Proteoglycans were labeled using [35S]sulfate, D-[3h]glucosamine, or L-[3H]serine as precursors. 35S-labeled proteoglycans in the medium increased linearly up to 72 h after a 6- to 8-h lag period, and those in a 4 M guanidine HCl extract of the cell layer increased for about 16 h and then reached a plateau and stayed fairly constant up to 72 h. Two distinct sizes of proteoglycans were observed in the medium. The smaller (Kav = 0.60 on Sepharose CL-2B) had lower buoyant densities in dissociative gradients (rho less than 1.4 g/ml). The larger (Kav = 0.26 on Sepharose CL-2B) had high buoyant densities (recovered mainly in the bottom (D1) fraction of the dissociative gradient). More than 90% of the D1 proteoglycans contained dermatan sulfate chains (average Mr = 38,000) which yielded 84% 4-sulfated and 15% disulfated disaccharides after digestion with chondroitinase ABC. About 8% of the 35S-label in D1 was present as a heparan sulfate proteoglycan. When [3H]-glucosamine was used as a precursor, 28% of the 3H activity in the D1 proteoglycans was located in three major oligosaccharide components, two of which were similar or identical with those observed previously in D1 proteoglycans isolated from porcine follicular fluid. These results plus similar susceptibility of the labeled proteoglycans to proteolytic enzymes, especially plasmin, suggest that the granulosa cells synthesize the predominant follicular fluid proteoglycans.     

Isolation and characterization of dermatan sulphate and heparan sulphate proteoglycans from fibroblast culture.

35SO42(-)- and [3H]leucine-labelled proteoglycans were isolated from the medium and cell layer of human skin fibroblast cultures. Measures were taken to avoid proteolytic modifications during isolation by adding guanidinium chloride and proteolysis inhibitors immediately after harvest. The proteoglycans were purified and fractionated by density-gradient centrifugation, followed by gel and ion-exchange chromatography. Our procedure permitted the isolation of two major proteoglycan fractions from the medium, one large, containing glucuronic acid-rich dermatan sulphate chains, and one small, containing iduronic acid-rich ones. The protein core of the latter proteoglycan had an apparent molecular weight of 47000 as determined by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, whereas the protein core of the former was considerably larger. The major dermatan sulphate proteoglycan of the cell layer was similar to the large proteoglycan of the medium. Only small amounts of the iduronic acid-rich dermatan sulphate proteoglycan could be isolated from the cell layer. Instead most of the iduronic acid-rich glycans appeared as free chains. The heparan sulphate proteoglycans found in the cell culture were largely confined to the cell layer. This proteoglycan was of rather low buoyant density and seemed to contain a high proportion of protein. The major part of the heparan sulphate proteoglycan from the medium had a higher buoyant density and contained a smaller amount of protein.     

Proteoglycans of the human intervertebral disc. Electrophoretic heterogeneity of the aggregating proteoglycans of the nucleus pulposus.

Nuclei pulposi were dissected from lumbar discs of radiologically normal human spines of cadavers aged 17, 20 and 21 years. Proteoglycans were extracted with 4 M guanidine hydrochloride (dissociative conditions) with proteinase inhibitors and isolated as A1 fractions by associative density-gradient centrifugation. Aggregating and non-aggregating proteoglycans were separated by Sepharose 2B chromatography. Both aggregating and non-aggregating proteoglycans contained a keratan sulphate-rich region as isolated by chondroitinase/trypsin/chymotrypsin digestion and Sepharose CL-6B chromatography. Agarose/acrylamide-gel electrophoresis of individual fractions of a Bio-Gel A-50m dissociative-column separation of the aggregating proteoglycans revealed two, well-separated bands: S and F, the slower and faster migrating bands respectively. The non-aggregating proteoglycan fractions were eluted under associative conditions (0.5 M-sodium acetate, pH 6.8) and migrated as a single band in the electrophoretic system. The gel-electrophoretic heterogeneity of the aggregating proteoglycans was still evident after hydroxylamine fragmentation and removal of the hyaluronate-binding portion of the molecule. Dissociative density-gradient centrifugation of the aggregating proteoglycans partially separated the Band-S proteoglycans from the Band-F population. Subsequent dissociative chromatography of the high-buoyant-density Band F proteoglycans permitted discrimination of this band into two gel-electrophoresis-distinguishable populations (Bands F-1 and F-2). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with a monoclonal antibody that recognized keratan sulphate demonstrated that the D1 fraction containing the Band F-1 proteoglycans was enriched in keratan sulphate compared with the total aggregating or non-aggregating pool of proteoglycans. The proteoglycans of young adult nucleus pulposus could then be ascribed to one of four structurally and/or electrophoretically distinct populations: (1) the non-aggregating population, which comprised about 70% of the total extractable proteoglycans; (2) the aggregating pool, comprising: (a) Band F-1 proteoglycans, which had a relatively large hydrodynamic size, uronate/protein weight ratio, were enriched in keratan sulphate and had a high buoyant density; (b) Band S proteoglycans, which migrated slower in agarose/acrylamide gels, had a smaller hydrodynamic size, lower buoyant density and a lower uronate/protein ratio than the Band F-1 population; (c) Band F-2 proteoglycans, which were lower in buoyant density, smaller in hydrodynamic size and slightly faster in electrophoretic mobility than the Band F-1 proteoglycans.     

Metabolism of rat bone proteoglycans in vivo.

Former evaluations of the role of proteoglycans in mineralization have neglected to address the possibility that the metabolism of proteoglycans may be of significance in this regard. This problem was studied by using radiolabeling in vivo of rat calvaria with [35Sulphate for 2-72 h and a sequential extraction procedure to yield two pools of newly synthesized proteoglycans: one obtained from non-mineralized tissue by extraction with guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) and another obtained only after demineralization with EDTA. Total radioactivity in calvaria was maximal after 12 h of incorporation, but by 36 h had declined to a level that was about 55-65% of maximum. Radioactivity in the GdmCl extract declined steadily after 12 h, whereas that in the EDTA extract remained constant until 36 h, when it began to increase. Each extract contained a minor proteoglycan that eluted at the void volume (Vo) of a Sepharose CL-6B column. Unlike in the EDTA extract, this proteoglycan gradually disappeared from the GdmCl extract. Each extract also contained a major, smaller proteoglycan, with a Kav. of 0.24 and 0.36 in the GdmCl and EDTA extracts respectively. Papain digestion of each extract yielded glycosaminoglycan chains with Kav. values of 0.32 and 0.50 on CL-6B in the GdmCl and EDTA extracts respectively. Digestion of each extract with chondroitinase ABC and chondroitinase AC showed that the glycosaminoglycans were of similar disaccharide composition, with about 85% being 4-sulphated and the remainder 6-sulphated and/or iduronic acid-containing. These data suggest that about 45% of the newly synthesized proteoglycans are removed from the tissue during the course of mineralization.     

Effect of low-density lipoproteins on the synthesis and secretion of proteoglycans by human endothelial cells in culture.

We studied the effect of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) on the synthesis and secretion of proteoglycans by cultured human umbilical-vein endothelial cells. Confluent cultures were incubated with [35S]sulphate or [3H]glucosamine in lipoprotein-deficient serum in the presence and in the absence (control) of LDL (100-400 micrograms/ml), and metabolically labelled proteoglycans in culture medium and cell layer were analysed. LDL increased accumulation of labelled proteoglycans in medium and cell fractions up to a concentration of 200 micrograms/ml. At this concentration of LDL the accumulations of proteoglycans in medium and cell layer were 65% and 32% respectively above control for 35S-labelled proteoglycans, and 55% and 28% respectively above control for 3H-labelled proteoglycans. At concentrations above this LDL was found to depress the accumulation of proteoglycans in medium and cell layer. Gel filtration on Sepharose CL-4B showed that in both control and LDL-treated cultures the cell layer contained a large (Kav. = 0) and a small (Kav. = 0.35) heparan sulphate proteoglycan, whereas the culture medium contained a large heparan sulphate proteoglycan (Kav. = 0) and a smaller isomeric chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (control, Kav. = 0.35; LDL-treated, Kav. = 0.17). The relative increase in hydrodynamic size of the isomeric chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (Mr 150,000 compared with 90,000) in the medium of cultures exposed to LDL was partly attributable to the larger size of the glycosaminoglycan side chains (Mr 39,000 compared with 21,000). The isomeric chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan in LDL-treated culture was relatively enriched in chondroitin 6-sulphate compared with that in control cultures (39% compared with 29%). Pulse-chase studies showed that LDL treatment did not alter the turnover rate of proteoglycans as compared with controls, implying that the elevation in proteoglycan accumulation in LDL-treated cultures was due to enhanced synthesis. These results demonstrate that LDL can modulate proteoglycan synthesis by cultured vascular endothelial cells, resulting in the secretion of a larger isomeric chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan enriched in chondroitin 6-sulphate.     

Synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by human embryonic lung fibroblasts. Different distribution of heparan sulphate, chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate in various fractions of the cell culture

Foetal human lung fibroblasts, grown in monolayer, were allowed to incorporate ³⁵SO₄²⁻ for various periods of time. ³⁵S-labelled macromolecular anionic products were isolated from the medium, a trypsin digest of the cells in monolayer and the cell residue. The various radioactive polysaccharides were identified as heparan sulphate and a galactosaminoglycan population (chondroitin sulphate and dermatan sulphate) by ion-exchange chromatography and by differential degradations with HNO₂ and chondroitinase ABC. Most of the heparan sulphate was found in the trypsin digest, whereas the galactosaminoglycan components were largely confined to the medium. Electrophoretic studies on the various ³⁵S-labelled galactosaminoglycans suggested the presence of a separate chondroitin sulphate component (i.e. a glucuronic acid-rich galactosaminoglycan). The ³⁵S-labelled galactosaminoglycans were subjected to periodate oxidation of l-iduronic acid residues followed by scission in alkali. A periodate-resistant polymer fraction was obtained, which could be degraded to disaccharides by chondroitinase AC. However, most of the ³⁵S-labelled galactosaminoglycans were extensively degraded by periodate oxidation–alkaline elimination. The oligosaccharides obtained were essentially resistant to chondroitinase AC, indicating that the iduronic acid-rich galactosaminoglycans (i.e. dermatan sulphate) were composed largely of repeating units containing sulphated or non-sulphated l-iduronic acid residues. The l-iduronic acid residues present in dermatan sulphate derived from the medium and the trypsin digest contained twice as much ester sulphate as did material associated with the cells. The content of d-glucuronic acid was low and similar in all three fractions. The relative distribution of glycosaminoglycans among the various fractions obtained from cultured lung fibroblasts was distinctly different from that of skin fibroblasts [Malmström, Carlstedt, Åberg & Fransson (1975) Biochem. J. 151, 477–489]. Moreover, subtle differences in co-polymeric structure of dermatan sulphate isolated from the two cell types could be detected.     

Effect of insulin on the altered production of proteoglycans in rib cartilage of experimentally diabetic rats

Costal cartilage from experimentally diabetic rats, labeled in vivo or in vitro with [35S]sulfate, was shown to incorporate less label into proteoglycans than cartilage from nondiabetic rats. Analyses of guanidine HCl cartilage extracts by gel chromatography on Sepharose CL-2B showed two major peaks at Kav approximately 0.4 and 0.8 (peaks I and II, respectively). Cartilage extracts from the diabetic rats contained predominantly peak II proteoglycans, while 60 and 55%, respectively, of the total 35S-labeled proteoglycans extracted from control cartilage labeled in vivo and in vitro with [35S]sulfate were present in peak I. After insulin treatment of the diabetic rats, the relative amount of peak I 35S-labeled proteoglycans synthesized in vivo was increased to 70%. The overall in vivo incorporation of [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans was also stimulated in diabetic rats treated with insulin to levels above those found for control rats. Thus, diabetes-induced changes in the biosynthesis of rat costal cartilage proteoglycans may be alleviated by normalization of the diabetic state by insulin treatment. However, addition of insulin (10(-5)-10(-9) M) to the culture medium did not affect the amount of 35S-labeled proteoglycans synthesized in vitro or the relative amounts of peak I proteoglycans produced by control or diabetic cartilage, suggesting that insulin does not have a direct effect on proteoglycan production. Moreover, no decrease in the amount of 35S-labeled proteoglycans produced was found when glucose at high concentrations was present in the culture medium. However, the presence of rat serum resulted in an increase in the amount of 35S-labeled proteoglycans produced by both control and diabetic cartilage, demonstrating that the cartilage explants were metabolically responsive to stimulatory factors.     

Isolation and characterization of insulin-like growth factor-II from human bone

Human bone was sequentially extracted with 4 M guanidine hydrochloride to remove nonmineralized tissue components, 0.5 M EDTA to dissolve the mineral phase, 4 M guanidine hydrochloride to remove matrix associated proteins and finally a combination of 4 M guanidine hydrochloride and 0.5 M EDTA to remove residual proteins. The extracts were examined for the presence of factors that were able to stimulate the incorporation of [3H] thymidine into DNA and [14C] leucine into protein in a cloned rat bone cell culture system. The majority of the bioactivity was found in the first guanidine hydrochloride extract (59 +/- 12%) while the second guandine hydrochloride extract contained 27 +/- 8%. In addition to several known growth factors already reported to be present in bone (transforming growth factor-beta and insulin-like growth factor-I) insulin-like growth factor-II was identified by its chromatographic, electrophoretic and immunological properties as well as by N-terminal sequence data. The insulin-like growth factor-II levels (802 +/- 112 micrograms/kg wet weight bone) were 10 fold higher than that found for insulin-like growth factor-I (84 +/- 23 micrograms/kg wet weight).     

Four classes of cell-associated proteoglycans in suspension cultures of articular-cartilage chondrocytes.

The characteristics of cell-associated proteoglycans were studied and compared with those from the medium in suspension cultures of calf articular-cartilage chondrocytes. By including hyaluronic acid or proteoglycan in the medium during [35S]sulphate labelling the proportion of cell-surface-associated proteoglycans could be decreased from 34% to about 15% of all incorporated label. A pulse-chase experiment indicated that this decrease was probably due to blocking of the reassociation with the cells of proteoglycans exported to the medium. Three peaks of [35S]sulphate-labelled proteoglycans from cell extracts and two from the medium were isolated by gel chromatography on Sephacryl S-500. These were characterized by agarose/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, by SDS/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis of core proteins, by glycosaminoglycan composition and chain size as well as by distribution of glycosaminoglycans in proteolytic fragments. The results showed that associated with the cells were (a) large proteoglycans, typical for cartilage, apparently bound to hyaluronic acid at the cell surface, (b) an intermediate-size proteoglycan with chondroitin sulphate side chains (this proteoglycan, which had a large core protein, was only found associated with the cells and is apparently not related to the large proteoglycans), (c) a small proteoglycan with dermatan sulphate side chains with a low degree of epimerization, and (d) a somewhat smaller proteoglycan containing heparan sulphate side chains. The medium contained a large aggregating proteoglycan of similar nature to the large cell-associated proteoglycan and small proteoglycans with dermatan sulphate side chains with a higher degree of epimerization than those of the cells, i.e. containing some 20% iduronic acid.     

Evidence for an interaction between canine synovial cell proteoglycans and link proteins

Link proteins are glycoproteins which stabilize aggregates of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid in cartilage. We recently identified link proteins in canine synovial cell cultures. We now find that link proteins and proteoglycans extracted from these cells under dissociative conditions sediment in the high-buoyant-density fractions of an associative cesium chloride density gradient, suggesting that link proteins interact with high-bouyant-density proteoglycans. In gradients containing [³⁵S]sulfate-labeled synovial cell extracts, 76% of the labeled sulfate and 54% of the uronic acid is found in the high-buoyant-density fractions. Under associative conditions, Sepharose 2B elution profiles of the crude synovial cell extract, synovial cell high-buoyant-density fractions, and culture medium indicate that synovial cell proteoglycans are present in monomeric form, rather than in aggregates. Synovial cell link proteins co-elute with the [³⁵S]sulfate-labeled material under the same conditions. These proteoglycans do not interact in vitro with exogenous hyaluronic acid. Dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate are the major cell-associated sulfated glycosaminoglycans synthesized by cultured canine synovial cells, while hyaluronic acid is found in the culture medium. Although the proteoglycans synthesized by cultured synovial cells interact with link proteins, these data indicate that they do not interact with hyaluronic acid to form aggregates.     

Chondroitin proteoglycans from squid skin. Isolation, characterization and immunological studies

Two populations of proteochondroitins were isolated from 4 M guanidine hydrochloride extracts of squid skin by a combination of ion exchange, gel chromatography and density gradient centrifugation. The proteoglycans, Mr 4.8 x 10(5) and 2.8 x 10(5), contained four and two chondroitin chains respectively and unusual oligosaccharides with uronic acid and sulphate groups, and had different amino acid and neutral sugar composition. The chondroitin chains isolated after alkaline borohydride treatment contained varying amounts of glucose, galactose, mannose, fucose and xylose, most likely as branches. Both proteoglycans were antigenic to the rabbit and showed considerable cross-reactivity as assessed by competition experiments using the ELISA technique. The proteoglycans reacted neither with exogenous hyaluronic acid nor with each other to form aggregates.     

Degradation of proteoglycan in articular cartilage.

Adult rabbit articular cartilage was labelled in vivo over 48 h with [35S]sulphate and was then incubated in organ culture at pH 7.2. Approx. 65% of the tissue content of [35S]proteoglycan was released into the culture medium during the first 48 h of incubation. The average molecular size of the released proteoglycans, as assessed by fractionation on Sepharose 2B/CL and 4B/Cl, was only slightly smaller than that of the proteoglycans extracted from non-cultured cartilage with 4 M guanidine HCl. The percentage of released proteoglycans and extracted proteoglycans which formed aggregates with hyaluronic acid was approx. 25% and 75%, respectively. The results indicate that proteoglycan degradation in adult articular cartilage is initiated by a limited proteolysis of subunit core protein, with the production of non-aggregating species which diffuse readily from the tissue.     

Heterogeneity of heparan sulfate proteoglycans synthesized by PYS-2 cells

Antibodies to the basement membrane proteoglycan produced by the EHS tumor were used to immunoprecipitate [35S]sulfate-labeled protoglycans produced by PYS-2 cells. The immunoprecipitated proteoglycans were subsequently fractionated by CsCl density gradient centrifugation and Sepharose CL-4B chromatography. The culture medium contained a low-density proteoglycan eluting from Sepharose CL-4B at Kav = 0.18, containing heparan sulfate side chains of Mr = 35-40,000. The medium also contained a high-density proteoglycan eluting from Sepharose CL-4B at Kav = 0.23, containing heparan sulfate side chains of Mr = 30,000. The corresponding proteoglycans of the cell layer were all smaller than those in the medium. Since the antibodies used to precipitate those proteoglycans were directed against the protein core, this suggests that these proteoglycans share common antigenic features, and may be derived from a common precursor which undergoes modification by the removal of protein segments and a portion of each heparan sulfate chain.     

Synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by human skin fibroblasts cultured on collagen gels.

A comparison has been made of the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by human skin fibroblasts cultured on plastic or collagen gel substrata. Confluent cultures were incubated with [3H]glucosamine and Na235SO4 for 48h. Radiolabelled glycosaminoglycans were then analysed in the spent media and trypsin extracts from cells on plastic and in the medium, trypsin and collagenase extracts from cells on collagen gels. All enzyme extracts and spent media contained hyaluronic acid, heparan sulphate and dermatan sulphate. Hyaluronic acid was the main 3H-labelled component in media and enzyme extracts from cells on both substrata, although it was distributed mainly to the media fractions. Heparan sulphate was the major [35S]sulphated glycosaminoglycan in trypsin extracts of cells on plastic, and dermatan sulphate was the minor component. In contrast, dermatan sulphate was the principal [35S]sulphated glycosaminoglycan in trypsin and collagenase extracts of cells on collagen gels. The culture substratum also influenced the amounts of [35S]sulphated glycosaminoglycans in media and enzyme extracts. With cells on plastic, the medium contained most of the heparan sulphate (75%) and dermatan sulphate (> 90%), whereas the collagenase extract was the main source of heparan sulphate (60%) and dermatan sulphate (80%) from cells on collagen gels; when cells were grown on collagen, the medium contained only 5-20% of the total [35S]sulphated glycosaminoglycans. Depletion of the medium pool was probably caused by binding of [35S]sulphated glycosaminoglycans to the network of native collagen fibres that formed the insoluble fraction of the collagen gel. Furthermore, cells on collagen showed a 3-fold increase in dermatan sulphate synthesis, which could be due to a positive-feedback mechanism activated by the accumulation of dermatan sulphate in the microenvironment of the cultured cells. For comparative structural analyses of glycosaminoglycans synthesized on different substrata labelling experiments were carried out by incubating cells on plastic with [3H]glucosamine, and cells on collagen gels with [14C]glucosamine. Co-chromatography on DEAE-cellulose of mixed media and enzyme extracts showed that heparan sulphate from cells on collagen gels eluted at a lower salt concentration than did heparan sulphate from cells on plastic, whereas with dermatan sulphate the opposite result was obtained, with dermatan sulphate from cells on collagen eluting at a higher salt concentration than dermatan sulphate from cells on plastic. These differences did not correspond to changes in the molecular size of the glycosaminoglycan chains, but they may be caused by alterations in polymer sulphation.