Isolation and characterization of proteoglycans synthesized by rat myoblasts L6J1 in culture

Proteoglycans synthesized by rat myoblasts L6J1 in culture were isolated using sorbent Q-Sepharose from culture medium, extracellular matrix (ECM), and cells. Elution of the sorbed material in a NaCl gradient separated proteoglycans from the bulk of proteins eluted at low concentration of the salt. Four fractions (fractions I-IV) were obtained for each component of the cell culture, including two proteoglycan fractions for the ECM and culture medium and one fraction for the myoblasts. Proteoglycans of the culture medium were virtually completely represented by proteoglycans of fetal calf serum. With enzymes chondroitinase ABC and heparinase III chondroitin/dermatan sulfate proteoglycans were shown to prevail in all components of the myoblast culture. The core proteins of proteoglycans were characterized by electrophoresis.     

Metabolic heterogeneity of proteoglycans from arterial wall

• 1.1. Four pools of proteoglycans were isolated by sequential extraction from pig arterial wall. They exhibited great metabolic and chemical heterogeneity.
• 2.2. Proteoglycans extracted by 4 M guanidinium chloride showed the highest labeling rate; and among the different glycosaminoglycans chains, the highest incorporation was measured in heparan sulfate chains.
• 3.3. Pulse chase experiments gave some evidence of precursor product relation between insoluble or less soluble, intracellular proteoglycans and the other soluble proteoglycans of the matrix.

     

Compartmentation and characterization of different proteoglycans in bovine arterial wall

Proteoglycans stained specifically with cuprolinic blue have been visualized in electron micrographs of bovine arterial tissue. Three differently sized proteoglycan-cuprolinic blue precipitates, designated as types I, II, and III, could be detected in the extracellular matrix. The precipitates could be distinguished by their length, width, area, topographical distribution, and their characteristic association with other matrix components. By taking into account the available biochemical data and the individual susceptibilities of the precipitates towards specific glycosaminoglycan-degrading enzymes, each type of proteoglycan-cuprolinic blue precipitate could be attributed to a proteoglycan population containing dermatan sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, or heparan sulfate as its main glycosaminoglycan component.     

The structural characterization of proteoglycans of culture aortic smooth muscle cells and arterial wall of the pig

Aortic proteoglycans, from the growth medium of cultured smooth muscle cells and from sequential associative and dissociative extracts of the tissue of origin, the pig aorta, were isolated and purified by precipitation with cetylpiridinium chloride. After isopycnic CsCl gradient centrifugation under associative conditions 94% of the cell-secreted proteoglycans were recuperated in the bottom one fifth (?_av = 1.62 g/ml) fraction. In contrast 80% of the tissue proteoglycans of both extracts, fractionated into two fractions: the bottom one fifth (?_av = 1.60 g/ml) fraction and three fifths (?_av = 1.42 g/ml) fraction. Fractionated tissue proteoglycans were composed predominantly of chondroitin sulfate-dermatan sulfate (83–90%) with lower proportions of heparan sulfate (5–11%) and hyaluronic acid (3–6%) whilst cell-secreted proteoglycans showed a similar glycosaminoglycan composition but with a higher proportion of hyaluronic acid (11–13%). Sepharose 2B and C1-2B chromatography of tissue proteoglycans of high buoyant density showed the presence of only subunit proteoglycans whilst those of intermediate density contained a complex species, partially dissociable in 4 M guanidinium chloride, along with K_av 0.50 subunit species. The latter was also observed for cell-secreted proteoglycans although obtained at high buoyant density. The cell-secreted subunit proteoglycans became separated into two distinct populations when chromatographed on Sepharose 4B and C1-4B, half of which eluted in the column V_o and the rest at a K_av of 0.34.. The majority of subunit macromolecules eluted at the V_o fractions of Sepharose 6B and C1-6B columns. Unlike the major species of cartilage proteoglycans, only approx. 20% of purified arterial proteoglycans formed complexes. This proportion could be increased by only 4–7% by interaction, of a mixture of subunit cell-secreted and tissue-extracted proteoglycans, with hyaluronic acid. These results suggest that proteoglycans secreted by cultured aortic smooth muscle cells and present in the aortic tissue possess certain similar physicochemical properties and are present in the form of complex and several subunit species.     

Isolation and partial characterization of proteoglycans from rice bran

Extraction of rice bran with hot water, followed by removal of protein and starch, yielded a proteoglycan. Successive fractionation of this proteoglycan by salting out with ammonium sulfate and by DEAE-Sephadex column chromatography yielded several fractions shown to be homogeneous by disc electrophoresis. Treatment of the fractions with alkali and a proteolytic enzyme has shown that the polysaccharide and protein of the proteoglycan are most probably linked through an O-glycosyl linkage through hydroxyproline.     

Isolation and characterization of proteoglycans from porcine lungs.

Proteoglycans were extracted from porcine lungs with 4 M guanidinium chloride. The extract was subjected to associative density gradient centrifugation, and four equal fractions, labeled A1 through A4 from the bottom to the top of the gradient, were obtained. The pooled A1 fractions containing proteoglycan aggregates were further fractionated by dissociative density gradient centrifugation to yield four equal fractions labeled A1D1 through A1D4 from the bottom to the top of the gradient. These fractions were analyzed for their protein, uronic acid, glucosamine, galactosamine, hexose, and sialic acid content. The fraction A1D1 with the highest buoyant density had the highest content of uronic acid and galactosamine, and lowest content of protein, indicating the enrichment of proteoglycan monomers at the bottom of the dissociative density gradient. As the density of the gradient decreased, the protein, hexoses, and sialic acid content increased, whereas uronic acid and galactosamine content decreased. The amino acid analysis showed similar composition for all four fractions with aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, proline, glycine, alanine, valine, and leucine as the major constituent amino acids. No hydroxyproline was detected in any of the fractions. As the buoyant density of the fractions decreased, the aspartic acid content increased and glycine content decreased.     

Changes in proteoglycans of cultured pig aortic smooth muscle cells during subculture

Summary Smooth muscle cells were cultured from pig aorta. Changes in both the growth and the properties of sulfated proteoglycans were observed during passage. The population doubling time during log phase growth was 34 h from Passages 3 to 7–8 but 20 h at the Passage 11, and the cell density at the stationary phase, was 86 000 and 136 000 cells/cm² at Passages 3 and 11, respectively. Structural characteristics of sulfated proteoglycans secreted into the medium were investigated after metabolic labeling with [³⁵S]-sulfate. Significant differences were observed with age in vitro: a) [³⁵S]proteoglycan complexes were in a greater amount at Passage 10 than at Passage 3; b) the hydrodynamic size of at least 45% of subunits and about 90% of monomers decreased with in vitro aging; c) this decrease in the size of proteoglycans was partly due to a decrease in the size of their glycanic chains; d) an increase of 15% in the proportion of dermatan sulfate was observed when cells were subjected to 10 passages. This work was supported by grants from the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM, U. 181) and the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale.     

Isolation and partial characterization of proteoglycans from rat incisors.

Newly synthesized proteoglycans of rat incisors were labelled in vivo for 6h with [35S]-sulphate in order to facilitate their detection during purification and characterization. Proteoglycans were extracted from non-mineralized portions (predentine) of rat incisors with 4M-guanidinium chloride and subsequently from dentine by demineralization with a 0.4M-EDTA solution containing 4M-guanidinium chloride. Both extractions were performed at 4 degrees C in the presence of proteinase inhibitors. Purification of proteoglycans was achieved with a procedure involving gel-filtration chromatography, selective precipitation of phosphoproteins, affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. Two proteoglycan populations were found in the initial extract (Pd-PG I and Pd-PG II), whereas only one fraction (D-PG) was obtained after demineralization. The minor proteoglycan fraction from the first extract, Pd-PG I, although not totally characterized, differed sharply from the other proteoglycans in that it had a larger molecular size with larger glycosaminoglycan chains composed of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulphate isomers. In contrast, the major proteoglycans Pd-PG II and D-PG had smaller hydrodynamic sizes with smaller glycosaminoglycan chains (but larger than those from bovine nasal cartilage proteoglycans) composed exclusively of chondroitin 4-sulphate. The major proteoglycans were incapable of interacting with hyaluronic acid. In general, the amino acid compositions of the major proteoglycans of rat incisors resembled that of bovine nasal cartilage proteoglycans, but the former had lower proline, valine, isoleucine, leucine, and higher aspartic acid, contents.     

Isolation and characterization of dermatan sulphate proteoglycans from bovine sclera.

1. Proteoglycans were extracted from sclera with 4 M-guanidine hydrochloride in the presence of proteinase inhibitors and purified by ion-exchange chromatography and density-gradient centrifugation. 2. The entire proteoglycan pool was characterized by compositional analyses and by specific chemical (periodate oxidation) and enzymic (chondroitinases) degradations. The glycan moieties of the molecules were exclusively galactosaminoglycans (dermatan sulphate-chondroitin sulphate co-polymers). In addition, the preparations contained small amounts of oligosaccharides. 3. The scleral proteodermatan sulphates were fractionated into one larger (I) and one smaller (II) component by gel chromatography. Proteoglycan I was eluted in a more excluded position on gel chromatography in 0.5 M-sodium acetate than in 4.0 M-guanidine hydrochloride. Reduced and alkylated proteoglycan I was eluted in the same position (in 0.5 M-sodium acetate) as was the starting material (in 4.0 M-guanidine hydrochloride). The elution position of proteoglycan II was the same in both solvents. Proteoglycans I and II had s0 20,w values of 2.8 x 10(-13) and 2.2 x 10(-13) s respectively in 6.0 M-guanidine hydrochloride. 4. The two proteoglycans differed with respect to the nature of the protein core and the co-polymeric structure of their side chains. Also proteoglycan I contained more side chains than did proteoglycan II. The dermatan sulphate side chains of proteoglycan I were D-glucuronic acid-rich (80%), whereas those of proteoglycan II contained equal amounts of D-glucuronic acid and L-iduronic acid. Furthermore, the co-polymeric features of the side chains of proteoglycans I and II were different. The protein core of proteoglycan I was of larger size than that of proteoglycan II. The latter had an apparent molecular weight of 46 000 (estimated by sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis), whereas the former was greater than 100 000. In addition, the amino-acid composition of the two core preparations was different. 5. As proteoglycan I altered its elution position on gel chromatography in 4 M-guanidine hydrochloride compared with 0.5 M-sodium acetate it is proposed that a change in conformation or a disaggregation took place. If the latter hypothesis is favoured, aggregation may be due to self-association or mediated by an extrinsic molecule, e.g. hyaluronic acid.     

Isolation and characterization of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans from porcine thoracic aorta

A chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan fraction was prepared from the 3 M MgCl2 extract of porcine aortas by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, followed by gel filtration through Sepharose CL-4B. Affinity chromatography of the fraction with antithrombin III-agarose yielded two chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans of a non-binding (proteoglycan IA) and binding (proteoglycan IB) nature. Proteoglycans IA and IB were different from each other in molecular size, in proportion of the protein relative to the polysaccharide portion, and in size of the chondroitin sulfate chain. They were also distinguished immunochemically. These data indicate that the intima-media of the aorta contains at least two distinct species of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan.     

Isolation and characterization of high-buoyant-density proteoglycans from bovine femoral-head cartilage.

Proteoglycans were extracted from bovine (15-18 months old) femoral-head cartilage. The heterogeneity of the A1D1 proteoglycan fraction was examined by gel chromatography, sedimentation velocity, sucrose rate-zonal centrifugation and CS2SO4 isopycnic centrifugation. In all cases polydisperse but unimodal distributions were obtained. Chemical analysis of the preparation yielded a galactosamine/glucosamine molar ratio of 7:1, and 13C n.m.r. spectroscopy showed that the chondroitin sulphate comprised equal proportions of the 4- and 6-sulphate isomers. Gel chromatography of a papain and Pronase digest of the proteoglycan indicated that the chondroitin sulphate chains had a Mn of approx. 10500. The mean buoyant density of the proteoglycan in pure CS2SO4 was 1.46 g/ml. Physical characterization of the proteoglycan preparation in 4M-guanidine hydrochloride, pH 7.4, by using conventional light-scattering gave a radius of gyration of 42 nm and a Mw of 0.96 X 10(6). Quasi-elastic light-scattering in the same solvent yielded a translational diffusion coefficient, D020, of 5.41 X 10(-8) cm2 X S-1, and ultracentrifugation gave a sedimentation coefficient, S020, of 12.0S. Thus from sedimentation-diffusion studies a Mw of 1.36 X 10(6) was calculated. The possible origins for the differences in the two molecular-weight estimates are discussed. It is concluded that the high-buoyant-density proteoglycans from bovine articular cartilage are significantly smaller than those from bovine nasal septum, and that this is largely due to the smaller size of their chondroitin sulphate chains.     

Isolation and characterization of gangliosides from pig lymphocytes

Two major gangliosides from pig spleen lymphocytes, accounting for 57% of the total lipid-bound sialic acids, were isolated and purified to homogeneity by column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex and silica gel. They were identified as GM3 (II3Neu5GcLacCer), and GD3 (II3(Neu5Gc)2LacCer), by thin-layer chromatography in comparison with standards and by analysis of the constituent sugars. The major fatty acids of these gangliosides were stearic acid and myristic acid, respectively. In addition to these gangliosides, GD2 and bands comigrating on thin-layer chromatography with authentic GM2, GM1, GD1a and GD1b were found. These compounds also occur in pig peripheral blood lymphocytes, where, however, GD3 represents about 70% of the total lipid-bound sialic acid.     

Isolation and characterization of proteoglycans from the swarm rat chondrosarcoma.

Proteoglycan monomer (D1) and aggregate (A1) preparations were isolated from 4 M guanidinium chloride extracts of the Swarm rat chondrosarcoma. When EDTA, 6-aminohexanoic acid, and benzamidine were present in the solutions, the D1 preparation contained a single component (SO = 23 S), and the A1 preparation contained 30% monomer (SO = 23 S) and 70 percent aggregate (SO = 111 S). In the absence of EDTA, 6-aminohexanoic acid, and benzamidine, the A1 preparations contained only small proteoglycan fragments, indicating that extensive enzymatic degradation had occurred. The composition of the proteoglycan monomer was different from that of proteoglycan monomer preparations from normal hyaline cartilages in that it did not contain keratan sulfate and chondroitin 6-sulfate; only chondroitin 4-sulfate was found. The A1 preparation from the chondrosarcoma contained only one link protein, which was like the smaller (molecular weight of 40,000) of the two link proteins present in A1 preparations from bovine nasal cartilage. When the A1 preparation from the chondrosarcoma was treated with chondroitinase ABC and trypsin and the digest was chromatographed on Sepharose 2B, a complex was isolated which contained the link protein and the segments of the protein core from the hyaluronic acid-binding region of the proteoglycan molecules.     

Isolation and partial characterization of proteoglycans from sheep lung parenchyma.

Greater than 90% of the proteoglycans of sheep lung parenchyma, as measured by uronic acid, were solubilized employing a sequential procedure with guanidine hydrochloride, dithiothreitol and Triton X-100. The amounts solubilized were 68.7%, 16.2% and 5.9%, respectively. The guanidine hydrochloride extract was chromatographed using DEAE-cellulose in urea and eluted with increasing concentrations of NaCl. A major fraction (containing a 6.5-fold enrichment of uronic acid) was obtained with 0.5 M NaCl and further purified by Sepharose Cl-6B chromatography in guanidine hydrochloride. To demonstrate the presence of protein-linked glycosaminoglycans, the void volume peak containing protein and uronic acid was digested with papain and rechromatographed. Evidence for the presence of proteoglycans was obtained by observing an almost complete loss of uronic acid in the void volume and the appearance of a uronic acid peak in the included volume, migrating in the same area as single-chain glycosaminoglycans. Electrophoretic migration and disappearance of bands in electrophoresis after digestion with specific mucopolysaccharide lyases indicated that the small amount of uronic acid remaining in the void volume was hyaluronic acid whereas the included volume contained hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate, chondroitin sulfates and/or dermatan sulfate.     

Membrane associated proteoglycans in rat testicular peritubular cells

Confluent testicular peritubular cells derived from immature rats were used to study membrane associated proteoglycans (PG) Peripheral material (heparin releasable), membrane and intracellular material (Triton X-100 releasable) were collected, purified by anion exchange chromatography then characterized by gel filtration and by hydrophobic interaction chromatography, followed by enzymatic digestion and chemical treatment. The peripheral material was constituted of two populations of PG (K_av=0 and 0.10 on Superose 6 column), each containing both heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) and chondroitin proteoglycans (CSPG) and perhaps a hybrid PG (HSCSPG). These PG being not retained on an octyl Sepharose column they were devoided of hydrophobic properties. The integral membrane proteoglycans isolated on the basis of their hydrophobic properties represented 20% of the Triton X-100 releasable material, and were exclusively constituted of proteoheparan sulfate. There were no relationships between this membrane HSPG and the peripheral HSPG as evidenced by pulse chase experiments. The mode of intercalation of the hydrophobic HSPG in the cell membrane was studied. The majority of these macromolecules (80%) were sensitive to trypsin and only a minor proportion (20%) were sensitive to phosphatidylinositol specific phospholipase C. Thus, about 80% of the hydrophobic HSPG were intercalated in the cell membrane by a hydrophobic segment of the core protein whereas about 20% were associated with the cell membrane via a phosphatidylinositol residue covalently bound to the core protein of the PG.Abbreviations PG Proteoglycans - CSPG Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans - HSPG Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans - HSCSPG Heparan and Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans - DNAse I Deoxyribonuclease I - DMEM Dulbeccos modified Eagle's medium - H/D HAM F12/DMEM - ECM Extracellular Matrix - PBS Phosphate Buffered Saline - PI Phosphatidylinositol - GPI Glycosyl Phosphatidylinositol - PI-PLC Phosphatidylinositol Specific Phospholipase C - TBS Tris Buffered Saline - STI Soybean Trypsin Inhibitor - GAG Glycosaminoglycans - HA Hyaluronic Acid     

Isolation and characterization of alpha-macroglobulin from guinea pig plasma

Guinea pig alpha-macroglobulin was purified to apparent homogeneity by sequential chromatography on Sephacryl S-300, DEAE-cellulose, and hydroxyapatite. A molecular weight of 780,000 was obtained by equilibrium sedimentation. The preparation migrated as a single band of Mr = 180,000 in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions. Rabbit antiserum raised against the final preparation partially cross-reacted with human and rat alpha-2-macroglobulins but not with rat alpha-1-macroglobulin. Guinea pig alpha-macroglobulin stimulated the amidolytic activity of trypsin towards a small substrate, but inhibited the proteolytic activity of trypsin towards remazol brilliant blue hide powder. When treated with trypsin or methylamine, four thiol groups per molecule were newly generated. The reaction with trypsin proceeded with at least at two different rates: half of the thiol groups were generated in a fast reaction and the remaining half in a slower reaction. On the other hand, such a two-step reaction was not detected in the reaction with methylamine. The methylamine-treated alpha-macroglobulin retained half the capacity to bind trypsin and its mobility in polyacrylamide gel under nondenaturing conditions remained virtually unchanged. These properties are in marked contrast to those reported for human alpha-2-macroglobulin, but resemble those of rat alpha-2- and mouse alpha-macroglobulins. The amidase activity of trypsin bound to guinea pig alpha-macroglobulin was impaired by soybean trypsin inhibitor to a much greater degree than that of trypsin bound to human or rat alpha-2-macroglobulin.     

Isolation and characterization of plasma-membrane glycoproteins from pig epidermis

1. Non-desmosomal plasma membranes enriched in plasma-membrane marker enzymes and in metabolically labelled glycoproteins were isolated on a large scale from up to 500g of pig ear skin slices. Sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and periodic acid/Schiff staining revealed the presence of four major glycosylated components in the apparent molecular-weight range 150000–80000. 2. A large proportion of the marker enzymes, the d-[³H]glucosamine-labelled glycoproteins and the periodic acid/Schiff-stained glycoproteins were solubilized by 1% (w/v) sodium deoxycholate. However, several non-glycosylated proteins, in particular those with mol.wts. 81000, 41000 and 38000 (possibly cytoskeletal components), were relatively resistant to solubilization. 3. The deoxycholate-solubilized membranes were fractionated by lectin affinity chromatography using both concanavalin A–Sepharose 4B and lentil lectin–Sepharose 4B. From 75 to 85% of the applied glycoprotein was recovered from the columns. From 30 to 40% of the recovered glycoprotein was specifically bound by the lectins and was eluted with 2% (w/v) α-methyl d-mannoside. The enrichment of labelled glycoproteins in the material bound by the lectins (2.5-fold) was similar with both lectins, although the yield was somewhat greater when lentil lectin was used. The glycoprotein-enriched fraction was also enriched in all the plasma-membrane marker enzymes, indicating their probable glycoprotein nature. 4. The glycoprotein-enriched fraction contained the four major periodic acid/Schiff-stained bands that were detected in the original plasma membrane. They had apparent mol.wts. 147000, 130500, 108000 and 91400. The higher-molecular-weight components contained relatively more d-[³H]glucosamine, indicating differences in the sugar composition or in the metabolic turnover of the individual glycoproteins in culture. The material bound by the lectins also contained a number of lower-molecular-weight Coomassie Brilliant Blue-stained components. These were weakly stained by periodic acid/Schiff reagent and were lightly labelled with d-[³H]glucosamine, indicating that they contained less carbohydrate than the four major glycoprotein bands. 5. Chloroform/methanol-extracted plasma membranes and isolated glycoproteins had a similar carbohydrate composition, containing sialic acid, hexosamine, fucose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose. Glucose was not enriched in the isolated glycoproteins, suggesting that it may be a contaminant. Xylose, however, was enriched in the isolated glycoproteins. It remains to be established whether this sugar, which is not usually found in plasma-membrane glycoproteins, is a genuine constituent of plasma-membrane glycoproteins in the epidermis.     

Isolation and characterization of metallothionein from guinea pig liver

The amino acid composition, and the absorption, circular dichroism (CD) and magnetic circular dichroism spectra of a metalloprotein induced in the livers of guinea pigs by the injection of CdCl₂ are reported. The amino acid composition of this protein closely resembles that of rat liver metallothionein (MT). We show that this protein has spectroscopic properties that closely follow the behaviour previously reported for several other cadmium-containing metallothioneins in its spectral response to changes in pH, and to the addition of cadmium and copper(I). Dramatic changes are observed in the CD spectrum during the addition of copper(I); it is suggested that these changes are the result of the formation of a mixed Cu(I)/Cd(II) cluster that forms in the α domain once the β domain has been saturated with Cu(I). These results are of particular importance in the characterization of this protein as belonging to the metallothionein class of proteins, as spectral changes of this type are directly related to the displacement of Cd²⁺ and Zn²⁺ from the two, thiolatecluster binding sites that are amongst the unique properties of mammalian metallothioneins. It is demonstrated that the CD spectrum provides a sensitive indicator of the presence of these special metal binding sites by indicating changes in the binding geometry and stoichiometry in response to an incoming metal. These results indicate that the guinea pig liver metallothionein induced by injections of CdCl₂ uses the same α and β type of clusters for cadmium binding as rat liver Cd, Zn-MT, even though there are minor differences in the amino acid composition between the guinea pig and rat liver proteins.