The copolymeric structure of pig skin dermatan sulphate. Characterization of d-glucuronic acid-containing oligosaccharides isolated after controlled degradation of oxydermatan sulphate

Selective periodate oxidation of unsubstituted l-iduronic acid residues in copolymeric dermatan sulphate chains was followed by reduction-hydrolysis or alkaline elimination. By this procedure the glucuronic acid-containing periods were isolated in oligosaccharide form; general formula: [Formula: see text] Further degradation of these oligosaccharides with chondroitinase-AC yielded three types of products: (a) sulphated trisaccharide containing an unsaturated uronosyl moiety in the non-reducing terminal and a C(4) fragment in the reducing terminal, DeltaUA-GalNAc-(-SO(4))-R; (b) monosulphated, unsaturated disaccharide, DeltaUA-GalNAc-SO(4) when n is greater than or equal to 2; and (c) N-acetylgalactosamine with or without sulphate. Oligosaccharides containing a single glucuronic acid residue (n=1) comprised more than half of the glucuronic acid-containing oligosaccharides. The terminal N-acetylgalactosamine moiety of the shortest oligosaccharide was largely 4-sulphated, whereas higher oligosaccharides primarily contained 6-sulphated or unsulphated hexosamine moieties in the same position. Moreover, IdUA-SO(4)-containing oligosaccharides were encountered. These oligosaccharides were resistant to the action of chondroitinase-ABC.     

Urinary excretion of sulphated N-acetylhexosamines in patients with various mucopolysaccharidoses.

Sulphated N-acetylhexosamines have been isolated from human urine and tentatively identified as N-acetylglucosamine 6-sulphate (GlcNAc6S), N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulphate (GalNAc6S), N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulphate (GalNAc4S) and N-acetylgalactosamine 4,6-disulphate (GalNAc4,6diS). Urine from mucopolysaccharidosis-Type-IIID, -IVA and -VI patients compared with that from normal individuals contains elevated levels of GlcNAc6S (380-fold), GalNAc6S (180-fold) and GalNAc4S (420-fold) respectively. Urine from mucopolysaccharidosis-Type-VI patients also contain more than 600 times the normal level of GalNAc4,6diS. Urine from a mucolipidosis-Type-II and a multiple-sulphatase-deficient patient, and, in general, all mucopolysaccharidosis patients studied, contain at least 5-10-fold elevations of sulphated N-acetylhexosamines over the levels detected in urine from normal controls and a alpha-mannosidosis patient. Urine from patients with clinically mild phenotypes contains less sulphated N-acetylhexosamines than isolated from urine of clinically severe mucopolysaccharidosis patients. The source of the four sulphated N-acetylhexosamines is not known. However, incubation of a series of oligosaccharide substrates, derived from keratan sulphate and chondroitin 6-sulphate and containing non-reducing-end beta-linked 6-sulphated N-acetylhexosamine residues, with homogenates of cultured human skin fibroblasts has indirectly been shown to release GlcNA6S and GalNAc6S respectively. Release of GalNAc4S could not be demonstrated in similar incubations of oligosaccharide substrates derived from chondroitin 4-sulphate and containing non-reducing-end beta-linked GalNAc4S residues. We propose that some, if not all, of the sulphated N-acetylhexosamine present in human urine is derived from the action of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase on sulphated GlcNAc or GalNAc residues at the non-reducing end of keratan sulphate, dermatan sulphate or chondroitin sulphate.     

Chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase-2 regulates the number of chondroitin sulfate chains initiated by chondroitin N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-1

Recently, it has been shown that a deficiency in ChGn-1 (chondroitin N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-1) reduced the numbers of CS (chondroitin sulfate) chains, leading to skeletal dysplasias in mice. Although these results indicate that ChGn-1 regulates the number of CS chains, the mechanism mediating this regulation is not clear. ChGn-1 is thought to initiate CS biosynthesis by transferring the first GalNAc (N-acetylgalactosamine) to the tetrasaccharide in the protein linkage region of CS. However, in vitro chondroitin polymerization does not occur on the non-reducing terminal GalNAc-linkage pentasaccharide structure. In the present study we show that several different heteromeric enzyme complexes composed of different combinations of four chondroitin synthase family members synthesized more CS chains when a GalNAc-linkage pentasaccharide structure with a non-reducing terminal 4-O-sulfation was the CS acceptor. In addition, C4ST-2 (chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase-2) efficiently transferred sulfate from 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate to position 4 of non-reducing terminal GalNAc-linkage residues, and the number of CS chains was regulated by the expression levels of C4ST-2 and of ChGn-1. Taken together, the results of the present study indicate that C4ST-2 plays a key role in regulating levels of CS synthesized via ChGn-1.     

Patterns of uronosyl epimerization and 4-/6-0-sulphation in chondroitin/dermatan sulphate from decorin and biglycan of various bovine tissues

Dermatan sulphate is a co-polymer of two types of disac-chariderepeats: D-glucuronate-N-acetylgalactosamine and L-iduronate-N-acetylgalactosamlne.The former can be O-sulphated at C-4 or C-6 of the galactosamine,whereas the latter contains almost exclusively 4-O-sulphatedgalactosamine. A minor proportion of the L-iduronate may beO-sulphated at C-2. Chondroitin sulphate has no L-iduronate-containing repeats. We have used our recently developed methodsfor sequence analysis of galactos-aminoglycans to investigatethe structure of dermatan/ chondroitin sulphates of the proteoglycansdecorin and biglycan derived from various bovine tissues, likederails, sclera, tendon, aorta, cartilage and bone. The glycanchains, radioiodinated at the reducing end, were partially cleavedwith specific enzymes (chondroitin lyases), and subjected tohigh-resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, blottingand autoradiography to identify fragments extending from thelabelled reducing end to the point of cleavage. We used chondroitinB lyase to identify the location of L-iduronate, chondroitinAC-I lyase to locate D-glucuronate and chondroitin C lyase tocleave where D-glucuronate residues were succeeded by 6-O-sulphatedN-acetylgalactosamine. We could demonstrate tissue-specific,periodic and wave-like patterns of distribution for the twoepimeric uronic acids, as well as specific patterns of sulphationhi dermatan sulphates derived from either decorin or biglycan.For example, some dermatan sulphates contained D-glucuronate-richdomains that were always 6-sulphated (sclera] decorin), otherswere always 4-sulphated (decorin from bovine dermis, cartilageand bone; biglycan from aorta) or 6-sulphated near the linkageregion, but 4-sulphated hi more distal domains (decorin fromporcine dermis and bovine tendon). Decorin from bone and articularcartilage, as well as biglycan from articular and nasal cartilage,carried largely chondroitin sulphate chains, but also some dermatansulphate, whereas galactosaminoglycan chains derived from aggrecanof nasal cartilage were free of L-iduronate. Decorin and biglycanfrom the same tissue (articular cartilage or sclera) had similarglycan chains. The two side chains in a biglycan molecule areprobably also similar to one another. The portion of the glycanchains nearest to the core protein was substituted with chargedgroups to a variable degree, which may correlate with the structuralfeatures of the main chain. biglycan decorin     

Difference between N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferases from human serum and squid cartilage in specificity toward the terminal and interior portion of chondroitin sulfate

In the preceding paper (Inoue, H., Otsu, K., Yoneda, M., Kimata, K., Suzuki, S., and Nakanishi, Y. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 4460-4469), we reported the purification from human serum of an N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase fraction which was able to transfer sulfate predominantly to position 6 of the nonreducing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate unit of chondroitin sulfate. We now show that the activity toward the terminal was co-purified with a minor activity toward the interior counterpart by sequential chromatography on heparin-Sepharose CL-6B, Matrex Blue B, hydroxyapatite, and Sephacryl S-300, and that the two activities were equally heatlabile. The enzyme purified 5000-fold from human serum was devoid of the sulfotransferase activities toward chondroitin, heparan sulfate, and keratan sulfate, but showed a strong terminal sulfotransferase activity toward dermatan sulfate (pig skin); over 97% of the sulfate residues incorporated were at position 6 of the nonreducing N-acetylgalactosamine 4,6-bissulfate end groups linked to the L-iduronic acid group. Although the enzyme introduces sulfate predominantly into the nonreducing terminal of chondroitin sulfate at physiological pH (approximately equal to 7.0) and Ca2+ concentration (approximately 2-3 mM), the activity toward the interior portion relative to that toward the terminal was increased by either lowering pH or elevating Ca2+ concentration, perhaps owing to changes in the conformation or ionic state of the acceptor molecule. Comparison between the human serum enzyme and the N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (formerly designated "E6-sulfotransferase") from squid cartilage indicated that the latter is distinct from the former in introducing sulfate predominantly into the interior portion of chondroitin sulfate. It appears that the role of the squid sulfotransferase is to synthesize so-called chondroitin sulfate E where over 50% of the interior hexosamine units are 4,6-bis-sulfated.     

Two linkage-region fragments isolated from skeletal keratan sulphate contain a sulphated N-acetylglucosamine residue.

Peptido-keratan sulphate fragments were isolated from the nucleus pulposus of bovine intervertebral discs (6-year-old animals) after chondroitin ABC lyase digestion followed by digestion of A1D1 proteoglycans by diphenylcarbamoyl chloride-treated trypsin and gel-permeation chromatography on Sepharose CL-6B. Treatment of these peptido-keratan sulphate fragments with alkaline NaB3H4 yielded keratan sulphate chains with [3H]galactosaminitol end-labels, and these chains were further purified by gel-permeation chromatography on Sephadex G-50 and ion-exchange chromatography on a Pharmacia Mono-Q column in order to exclude any contamination with O-linked oligosaccharides. The chains were then treated with keratanase, and the digest was chromatographed on a Bio-Gel P-4 column followed by anion-exchange chromatography on a Nucleosil 5 SB column. Two oligosaccharides, each representing 18% of the recovered radiolabel, were examined by 500 MHz 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy, and shown to have the following structures: [formula: see text] The structure of oligosaccharide (I) confirms the N-acetylneuraminylgalactose substitution at position 3 of N-acetylgalactosamine in the keratan sulphate-protein linkage region found by Hopwood & Robinson [(1974) Biochem. J. 141, 57-69] but additionally shows the presence of a 6-sulphated N-acetylglucosamine. Electron micro-probe analysis specifically confirmed the presence of sulphur in this sample. This sulphate ester group differentiates the keratan sulphate linkage region from similar structures derived from O-linked oligosaccharides [Lohmander, De Luca, Nilsson, Hascall, Caputo, Kimura & Heinegård (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 6084-6091].     

Comparative study on glycosaminoglycans synthesized in peripheral and peritoneal polymorphonuclear leucocytes from guinea pigs.

Glycosaminoglycans synthesized in polymorphonuclear (PMN) leucocytes isolated from blood (peripheral PMN leucocytes) and in those induced intraperitoneally by the injection of caseinate (peritoneal PMN leucocytes) were compared. Both peripheral and peritoneal PMN leucocytes were incubated in medium containing [35S]sulphate and [3H]glucosamine. Each sample obtained after incubation was separated into cell, cell-surface and medium fractions by trypsin digestion and centrifugation. The glycosaminoglycans secreted from peripheral and peritoneal PMN leucocytes were decreased in size by alkali treatment, indicating that they existed in the form of proteoglycans. Descending paper chromatography of the unsaturated disaccharides obtained by the digestion of glycosaminoglycans with chondroitinase AC and chondroitinase ABC identified the labelled glycosaminoglycans of both the cell and the medium fractions in peripheral PMN leucocytes as 55-58% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 16-19% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 16-19% dermatan sulphate and 6-8% heparan sulphate. Oversulphated chondroitin sulphate and oversulphated dermatan sulphate were found only in the medium fraction. In peritoneal PMN leucocytes there is a difference in the composition of glycosaminoglycans between the cell and the medium fractions; the cell fraction was composed of 60% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 5.5% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 16.8% dermatan sulphate and 13.9% heparan sulphate, whereas the medium fraction consisted of 24.5% chondroitin 4-sulphate, 28.2% chondroitin 6-sulphate, 33.7% dermatan sulphate and 10% heparan sulphate. Oversulphated chondroitin sulphate and oversulphated dermatan sulphate were found in the cell, cell-surface and medium fractions. On the basis of enzymic assays with chondro-4-sulphatase and chondro-6-sulphatase, the positions of sulphation in the disulphated disaccharides were identified as 4- and 6-positions of N-acetylgalactosamine. Most of the 35S-labelled glycosaminoglycans synthesized in peripheral PMN leucocytes were retained within cells, whereas those in peritoneal PMN leucocytes were secreted into the culture medium. Moreover, the amount of glycosaminoglycans in peritoneal PMN leucocytes was significantly less than that in peripheral PMN leucocytes. Assay of lysosomal enzymes showed that these activities in peritoneal PMN leucocytes were 2-fold higher than those in peripheral PMN leucocytes.     

The copolymeric structure of pig skin dermatan sulphate. Isolation and characterization of l-idurono-sulphate-containing oligosaccharides from copolymeric chains

Dermatan sulphate was degraded by testicular hyaluronidase and an oversulphated fraction was isolated by ion-exchange chromatography. This preparation, which contained fairly long segments derived from the non-reducing terminal portion of the molecule, was subjected to periodate oxidation under acidic conditions. The oxidized iduronic acid residues were cleaved by reduction-hydrolysis (Smith-degradation) (Fransson & Carlstedt, 1974) or by alkaline elimination. The oligosaccharides so obtained contained both GlcUA (glucuronic acid) and IdUA-SO(4) (sulphated iduronic acid) residues. Copolymeric oligosaccharides obtained after alkaline elimination were cleaved by chondroitinase-AC into disaccharide and higher oligosaccharides. Since the corresponding oligosaccharides obtained by Smith-degradation were unaffected by this enzyme, it was concluded that the carbohydrate sequences were GalNAc-(IdUA-GalNAc)(n)-GlcUA-GalNAc. The iduronic acid-containing sequences were resistant to digestion with chondroitinase-ABC. It was demonstrated that the presence of unsulphated N-acetylgalactosamine residues in these sequences could be responsible for the observed effect. This information was obtained in an indirect way. Chemically desulphated dermatan sulphate was found to be a poor substrate for the chondroitinase-ABC enzyme. Moreover, digestion with chondroitinase-ABC of chondroitinase-AC-degraded dermatan sulphate released periodate-resistant iduronic acid-containing oligosaccharides. It is concluded that copolymeric sequences of the following structure are present in pig skin dermatan sulphate: [Formula: see text] N-acetylgalactosamine moieties surrounding IdUA-SO(4) residues are unsulphated to a large extent.     

Purification and characterization of human platelet proteoglycan.

Freshly prepared platelets were shown to contain glycosaminoglycans equivalent to 530 micrograms of hexuronate/10(11) platelets. When the platelets were extracted with 4 M-guanidinium chloride containing proteinase inhibitors, and the extract was dialysed extensively against 7 M-urea solution, almost all of proteoglycan was recovered in the urea-soluble fraction. The proteoglycan was purified from the urea-soluble fraction with a yield of 47% by DEAE-Sephacel chromatography, CsCl-density-gradient centrifugation, Bio-Gel A-15m gel filtration and then rechromatography on DEAE-Sephacel. The purified proteoglycan contained 30% glucuronic acid, 32% N-acetylgalactosamine, 14% sulphate and 15% protein. Serine, glutamic acid, glycine, aspartic acid and leucine accounted for 64% of the total amino acids. The Mr of the proteoglycan was assessed to be approx. 136000 by sedimentation-equilibrium methods. The galactosaminoglycan released by alkaline-borohydride treatment of the proteoglycan was converted stoichiometrically into 4-sulphated unsaturated disaccharide by digestion with chondroitinase AC-II, indicating that the galactosaminoglycan was fully sulphated chondroitin 4-sulphate. The apparent Mr of the chondroitin sulphate was assessed to be 28000 by gel filtration on Bio-Gel A-0.5m (KD 0.18). On two-dimensional electrophoresis on a cellulose acetate membrane, the chondroitin sulphate gave a single compact spot co-migrating with a reference chondroitin sulphate, indicating that the chondroitin sulphate chains were homogeneous in both length and charge density. On the basis of these results, the proteoglycan in human platelets was concluded to be a macromolecule of Mr 136000 containing four chondroitin 4-sulphate chains each with the apparent Mr of 28000.     

Types of oligosaccharide sulphation, depending on mucus glycoprotein source, corpus or antral, in rat stomach.

Radiolabelled mucus glycoprotein was obtained from tissue and a culture medium each of the corpus and antrum of rat stomach incubated with [35S]sulphate in vitro. Gel-filtration analysis of oligosaccharides liberated by alkaline-borohydride treatment from glycoproteins indicated that 35S-labelled oligosaccharides from the corpus vary considerably with respect to chain length whereas those from antral mucus glycoprotein are composed of small oligosaccharides. Examination of the reduced radiolabelled products obtained by HNO2 cleavage of the hydrazine-treated oligosaccharides indicated sulphate esters of N-acetylglucosamine to be present at three locations on a carbohydrate unit: [35S]sulphated monosaccharide (2,5-anhydromannitol 6-sulphate), [35S]sulphated disaccharide [galactosyl(beta 1-4)-2,5-anhydromannitol 6-sulphate] and [35S]sulphated trisaccharide [fucosyl(alpha 1-2)-galactosyl(beta 1-4)-2,5-anhydromannitol 6-sulphate]. Sulphated disaccharide and trisaccharide, possibly originating from the N-acetyl-lactosamine and fucosyl-N-acetyl-lactosamine sequences respectively, were detected in the corpus, especially as large oligosaccharides, but were present in the antrum in only very small amounts. The sulphated monosaccharide, however, most probably originating from 6-sulphated N-acetylglucosamine residues at non-reducing termini, was present in all oligosaccharide fractions in both the corpus and antrum.     

Studies on the incorporation of [U-14C]glucose and [35S]sulphate into the acid glycosaminoglycans of neonatal rat skin

1. The incorporation of [(35)S]sulphate in vivo into the acid-soluble intermediates extracted from young rat skin showed three sulphated hexosamine-containing components. 2. The rates of synthesis of these components were determined in vivo by measuring the incorporation of radioactivity from [U-(14)C]glucose into their isolated hexosamine moieties. 3. The incorporation of radioactivity from [U-(14)C]glucose into the isolated hexosamine and uronic acid moieties of the acid glycosaminoglycans was also measured. These results, combined with those obtained on the intermediary pathways of hexosamine and uronic acid biosynthesis previously determined in this tissue, indicated that the acid-soluble sulphated hexosamine-containing components were not precursors of the sulphated hexosamine found in the acid glycosaminoglycans. 4. The rates of synthesis of the acid glycosaminoglycan fractions were calculated from the incorporation of radioactivity from [U-(14)C]glucose into the hexosamine moiety. The sulphated components containing principally dermatan sulphate, chondroitin 6-sulphate and in smaller amounts, chondroitin 4-sulphate, heparan sulphate and heparin appeared to be turning over about twice as rapidly as hyaluronic acid and about four times as rapidly as the small keratan sulphate fraction. The relative rates of synthesis of the sulphated glycosaminoglycans were calculated from the incorporation of [(35)S]sulphate and were in agreement with those from (14)C-labelling studies.     

Identification of oversulphated galactosaminoglycans in intestinal-mucosal mast cells of rats infected with the nematode worm Nippostrongylus brasiliensis.

The oversulphated galactosaminoglycans synthesized by rat mucosal mast cells were isolated from the small intestine of animals infected with the nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, which causes proliferation of these cells. The 35S-labelled polysaccharides were degraded by digestion with chondroitinase ABC, and the structures of the disaccharide products were determined by cleavage with mercuric acetate followed by electrophoretic characterization of the resultant sulphated monosaccharides. It was concluded that about half of the disulphated disaccharide units in the polysaccharide consisted of chondroitin sulphate E-type structures [GlcA-GalNAc(4,6-di-OSO3)], in which both sulphate groups were located on the N-acetylgalactosamine unit. The remainder consisted of isomeric structures with one sulphate group on the N-acetylgalactosamine residue and one on the hexuronic acid unit and presumably represented the dermatan sulphate-type sequence [IdoA(2-OSO3)-GalNAc(4-OSO3)].     

Highly sulfated proteochondroitin sulfates synthesized in vitro by rat glomeruli

A previous report from this laboratory (Kobayashi, S., Oguri, K., Kobayashi, K. and Okayama, M. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 12051-12057) indicated that isolated rat glomeruli synthesized three species of sulfated glycoconjugates in vitro, namely, sulfated glycoproteins, proteoheparan sulfates and proteochondroitin sulfates. In the present study, the proteochondroitin sulfates, which showed the greatest incorporation of [35S]sulfate among the three sulfated glycoconjugates, were isolated and characterized. Radiolabeled tissue proteochondroitin sulfates were clearly separated on Sepharose CL-6B into three components with partition coefficients (Kd) of 0.16, 0.22 and 0.58, and medium proteochondroitin sulfates were separated into two components with Kd values of 0.33 and 0.62. When the chondroitin sulfate chains released by alkaline borohydride treatment were analyzed by digestion with chondroitinase AC-II, chondroitinase ABC, chondro-6-sulfatase and chondro-4-sulfatase, the results showed that all the samples contained glucuronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine (chondroitinase AC-II-susceptible sequences, 72-86%) and iduronosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine (chondroitinase ABC-susceptible sequences, 14-28%), containing 4-sulfated N-acetylgalactosamine (50-70%) and 4,6-disulfated N-acetylgalactosamine (30-50%). On two-dimensional electrophoresis on cellulose acetate, all samples gave a single spot which closely coincided with chondroitin sulfate E of squid cartilage in electrophoretic mobility. These results indicated that the chains were highly sulfated chondroitin sulfates containing glucuronic acid and iduronic acid residues.     

The co-polymeric structure of pig skin dermatan sulphate. Distribution of L-iduronic acid sulphate residues in co-polymeric chains.

1. Pig skin dermatan sulphate was degraded by periodate oxidation followed by alkaline elimination or by chondroitinase-ABC to quantify irregular repeating units, i.e. those containing D-GlcUA (D-glucuronic acid) and L-IdUA-SO4 (sulphated iduronic acid). 2. Previous results of periodate oxidation (Fransson, 1974) indicated repeating sequences in pig skin dermatan sulphate containing, on average, 3D-GlcUA, 9 L-IdUA-SO4 or 28 L-IdUA units in addition to N-acetylgalactosamine sulphate. However, complete digestion with chondroitinase-ABC yielded, at the most, 3-4 disulphated disaccharides/chain. Consequently, more than one-half of the L-IdUA-SO4 residues were present in monosulphated periods, i.e. IdUA-(SO4)-GalNAc. 3. To determine the location of L-IdUA-SO4 residues along the copolymeric chain dermatan sulphate was digested with testicular hyaluronidase. (This enzyme cleaves GalNAc-GlcUA bonds within block regions containing D-GlcUA.) By NaB3H4 reduction GalNAc residues located in the reducing end of the fragments were converted into [3H]GalNAcOH (N-acetylgalactosaminitol). Finally, the radioactive product was fragmented by periodate oxidation followed by alkaline elimination. The bulk of the radioactivity was associated with periodate-resistant oligosaccharides indicating that clusters of GlcUA-GalNAc-SO4 periods are often adjacent to a varying number of (n = 1-4) of L-IdUA-SO4-containing periods. 4. To study the distribution of L-IdUA-SO4-containing periods in relation to blocks of IdUA-GalNAc-SO4 periods different fractions of hyaluronidase-degraded dermatan sulphate were degraded separately. In all types of fragments (mol. wts. 1,500-10,000) L-IdUA-SO4-containing periods were demonstrated. In short fragments reducing terminal GalNAc-6-SO4 (6-sulphated N-acetylgalactosamine) was found confirming that these sequences were joined to relatively long D-GlcUA-containing block sequences via GalNAc-6-SO4. Moreover, low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides composed of alternating sequences were encountered. An octasaccharide derived from the carbohydrate sequence -GalNAc---GlcUA-GalNAc-IdUA-GalNAc-GlcUA-GalNAc-IdUA-GalNAc---GlcUA-GalNAc (--- indicates the position of cleavage by hyaluronidase) was identified.     

Two N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase are involved in the biosynthesis of chondroitin sulfate

Two N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases, designated I and II, have been purified from the microsomal fraction of calf arterial tissue and separated on Bio-Gel A. N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase I was purified 450-fold. It requires Mn2+ for maximal activity and transfers N-acetylgalactosamine residues from UDP-[1-3H]GalNAc in beta-glycosidic configuration to the non-reducing terminus of the acceptor substrates GlcA(beta 1-3)Gal(beta 1-3)Gal, GlcA(beta 1-3)Gal(beta 1-4)Glc and GlcA(beta 1-3)Gal. Even-numbered chondroitin oligosaccharides serve as acceptors for N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase II, which transfers N-acetylgalactosamine from UDP-[1-3H]GalNAc to the non-reducing glucuronic acid residues of oligosaccharide acceptor substrates. Maximum transfer rates were obtained with a decasaccharide derived from chondroitin. Longer or shorter-chain chondroitin oligosaccharides are less effective acceptor substrates. All reaction products formed by N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases I and II are substrates of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase, which splits off the transferred [1-3H]GalNAc completely. In the microsomal fraction N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase II had a 300-fold higher specific activity than N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase I. In contrast to enzyme I, enzyme II loses much of its activity during the purification procedure and undergoes rapid thermodenaturation. GlcA-Gal-Gal is a characteristic sequence of the carbohydrate-protein linkage region of proteochondrioitin sulfate. The acceptor capacity of this trisaccharide suggests that N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase I is involved in the synthesis of the carbohydrate-protein linkage region. Since N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase II is highly specific for chondroitin oligosaccharides, we conclude that it participates in chain elongation during chondroitin sulfate synthesis.     

The biosynthesis in vitro of chondroitin sulphate in neonatal rat epiphysial cartilage

1. A system is described, which was used to incubate neonatal rat epiphysial cartilage in vitro with [U-(14)C]glucose and [(35)S]sulphate. 2. The acid glycosaminoglycans of neonatal rat epiphyses were extracted and fractionated on cetylpyridinium chloride-cellulose columns. The major components were chondroitin 4-sulphate (65%), chondroitin 6-sulphate (15%), hyaluronic acid (4%) and keratan sulphate (2%). 3. The acid-soluble nucleotides and intermediates of glycosaminoglycan synthesis were separated on a Dowex 1 (formate) system. The tissue contents and cellular concentrations of these metabolites were determined. 4. The rates of synthesis of UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetyl-hexosamine from [U-(14)C]glucose were found to be 0.79+/-0.16 and 3.2+/-0.08nmol/min per g wet wt. respectively. 5. The incorporation of [U-(14)C]glucose into the uronic acid and hexosamine moieties of the polymers was also measured and the turnover rates of the glycosaminoglycans were calculated. It was found that chondroitin sulphate was turning over in about 70h and hyaluronic acid in about 120h. 6. The relative rates of synthesis of the sulphated glycosaminoglycans were calculated from [(35)S]sulphate incorporation and were found to be in good agreement with those obtained from [U-(14)C]glucose labelling.     

Chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase-1 regulates the chain length of chondroitin sulfate in co-operation with chondroitin N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-2

Previously, we demonstrated that sog9 cells, a murine L cell mutant, are deficient in the expression of C4ST (chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase)-1 and that they synthesize fewer and shorter CS (chondroitin sulfate) chains. These results suggested that C4ST-1 regulates not only 4-O-sulfation of CS, but also the length and amount of CS chains; however, the mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we have demonstrated that C4ST-1 regulates the chain length and amount of CS in co-operation with ChGn-2 (chondroitin N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 2). Overexpression of ChGn-2 increased the length and amount of CS chains in L cells, but not in sog9 mutant cells. Knockdown of ChGn-2 resulted in a decrease in the amount of CS in L cells in a manner proportional to ChGn-2 expression levels, whereas the introduction of mutated C4ST-1 or ChGn-2 lacking enzyme activity failed to increase the amount of CS. Furthermore, the non-reducing terminal 4-O-sulfation of N-acetylgalactosamine residues facilitated the elongation of CS chains by chondroitin polymerase consisting of chondroitin synthase-1 and chondroitin-polymerizing factor. Overall, these results suggest that the chain length of CS is regulated by C4ST-1 and ChGn-2 and that the enzymatic activities of these proteins play a critical role in CS elongation.     

Chondroitinase ABC digestion of dermatan sulphate. N.m.r. spectroscopic characterization of the oligo- and poly-saccharides.

Dermatan sulphates, in which iduronate was the predominant uronate constituent, were partially digested by chondroitinase ABC to produce oligosaccharides of the following structure: delta UA-[GalNAc(4SO3)-IdoA]mGalNAc(4SO3) [where m = 0-5, delta UA represents beta-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronate, IdoA represents alpha-L-iduronate and GalNAc(4SO3) represents 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-galactose 4-O-sulphate], which were fractionated by gel-permeation chromatography and examined by 100 MHz 13C-n.m.r. and 400/500 MHz 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy. Experimental conditions were established for the removal of non-reducing terminal unsaturated uronate residues by treatment with HgCL2, and reducing terminal N-acetylgalactosamine residues of the oligosaccharides were reduced with alkaline borohydride. These modifications were shown by 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy to have proceeded to completion. Assignments of both 13C-n.m.r. and 1H-n.m.r. resonances are reported for the GalNAc(4SO3)-IdoA repeat sequence in the oligosaccharides as well as for the terminal residues resulting from enzyme digestion and subsequent modifications. A full analysis of a trisaccharide derived from dermatan sulphate led to the amendment of published 13C-n.m.r. chemical-shift assignments for the polymer.     

N-acetyl-D-galactosaminyl-β-(1→4)-D-galactose: A terminal non-reducing structure in human blood group Sda-active Tamm-Horsfall urinary glycoprotein

Human Sd^a-active Tamm-Horsfall urinary glycoprotein labelled with galactose oxidase and tritiated sodium borohydride was found to contain both galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine as [³H]-labelled terminal non-reducing sugars. Fragmentation of the macromolecule achieved by hydrazinolysis and acid hydrolysis was followed by fractionation of the degradation products by gel filtration, ion exchange and paper chromatography. A major product was a disaccharide which contained unlabelled galactose and [³H]-labelled N-acetylgalactosamine. Sugar analysis, sodium borohydride reduction, methylation analysis and enzymic degradation enabled the structure N-acetyl-D-galactosaminyl-β-(1→4)-D-galactose to be assigned to the disaccharide.     

Occurrence and structural characterization of versican-like proteoglycan in human vitreous

Human vitreous gel is a special type of extracellular matrix, in which interpenetrating networks of collagen fibrils and hyaluronan are found. In this study, we report that apart from significant amounts of collagen, hyaluronan and sialylated glycoproteins, it was found that the human vitreous gel also contained low amounts of versican-like proteoglycan. The concentration of versican-like proteoglycan in the whole vitreous is 0.06 mg protein/ml of vitreous gel and represents a small percentage (about 5%) of the total protein content. The versican-like proteoglycan has a molecular mass of 380 kDa, as estimated by gel chromatography. Its core protein is substituted by chondroitin sulphate side chains (average molecular weight 37 kDa), in which 6-sulphated disaccharides predominated. According to the physicochemical data, the number of chondroitin sulphate chains is likely to be 5-7 per molecule. These proteoglycan monomers form large aggregates with endogenous hyaluronan. Versican, which is able to bind lectins via its C-terminal region, may bridge or interconnect various constituents of the extracellular matrix via its terminal domains in order to stabilize large supramolecular complexes at the vitreous, contributing towards the integrity and specific properties of the tissue.