Determination of hexuronic acids in glycosaminoglycans by automated ion-exchange chromatography.

This report describes a procedure for analyzing glucuronic and iduronic acids using the Technicon automated sugar chromatography system. Glueronic and iduronic acids of standard samples of glycosaminoglycans have been analyzed after hydrolysis by formic acid. The method has been applied to quantitate uronic acids in chondroitin sulfates and dermatan sulfate mixtures obtained by Dowex 1 Cl^? column fractionation of glycosaminoglycans from aortas of different animal species. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by the gas-liquid chromatographic technique.     

Glycosaminoglycans of the fat globule membrane of cow milk

Membranes of fat globules of cow milk contained 163 μg/100 mg (dry weight) of glycosaminoglycans (expressed as uronic acid); 62.5% of the uronic acids corresponded to hyaluronic acid, the remaining consisted of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (chondroitin-4-(-6) sulfates, and dermatan and heparan sulfates) with different degrees of sulfation.     

On the structure of heparitin sulfates Analyses of the products formed from heparitin sulfates by two heparitinases and a heparinase from Flavobacterium heparinum

The analyses of the products formed from heparitin sulfates by the action of two heparitinases and a heparinase from Flavobacterium heparinum is reported. Heparitin sulfates A and B are degraded by heparitinase I yielding two disaccharides, one of them composed of N-acetylglucosamine and an unsaturated uronic, joined by α(1 → 4) linkage, and the other, with the same composition but with an O-sulfate at the hexosamine moiety. A third disaccharide is also formed from heparitin sulfate B, by the action of the same enzyme, composed of glucosamine N-sulfate and an unsaturated uronic acid joined probably by α(1 → 4) linkage. Besides these three disaccharides, heparitin sulfate B yields, by the action of heparitinase I, an oligosaccharide (with an average molecular weight of 6000) which is completely degraded by the heparitinase II yielding a disaccharide composed of glucosamine 2,6-disulfate and unsaturated uronic acid. All the disaccharides are further degraded by α-glycuronidase from Flavobacterium heparinum yielding the respective monosaccharides. Based on these and other analyses the possible structures of the heparitin sulfates are proposed.     

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.     

Capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of chondroitin sulfate- and dermatan sulfate-derived disaccharides

High-voltage capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has been used for the first time in the analysis of non-, mono-, di-, and trisulfated disaccharides derived from chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and hyaluronic acid. These glycosaminoglycans are first depolymerized using polysaccharide lyases. The resulting unsaturated disaccharide products can be detected by their ultraviolet absorbance at 232 nm. Different retention times were obtained for each unsaturated disaccharide analyzed by CZE. The application of a constant voltage across a 70-cm fused silica capillary using a single, simple buffer system resolved an eight-component mixture within 40 min. Quantitation of disaccharides derived from chondroitin sulfate using chondroitin ABC lyase (EC 4.2.2.4) and mixtures of unsaturated disaccharide standards was possible requiring only picogram quantities of sample. The disaccharides examined had a net charge of from -1 to -4 and were resolved primarily on the basis of net charge and secondarily on the basis of charge distribution. Two unsulfated disaccharides both containing the same unsaturated uronic acid residue were analyzed. One was from chondroitin having an N-acetylgalactosyl residue and one from hyaluronate having an N-acetylglycosyl residue. Despite the fact that they differed only by the chirality at one center, these disaccharides were resolved by CZE. CZE is a fast and simple method that represents a powerful new tool for analysis and separation of acidic disaccharide components of glycosaminoglycans.     

Isolation and characterization of an induced chondroitinase ABC from Flavobacterium heparium

During the investigation of alternative methods for the large sclae preparation of chondroitinases AC, B and C from Flavobacterium heparinum, a new chondroitinase activity was observed. This new enzyme, like the other chondroitinases, acts as an eliminase, forming unsaturated sulfated disaccharides from dermatan and chondroitin sulfates. In contrast tot he chondroitinases previously described, which are endoglycosidases, this chondroitinase ABC cleaves the glycosidic linkages in an exolytic fashiom, beginning at the reducing end of the substrate molecules. The oligosaccharides formed as transient products by the action of either chondroitinases or testicular hyaluronidase upon dermatan and chontroitin sulfates are also rapidly degraded by the chondroitinase ABC, regardless of their size or the presence of Δ-4,5 unsaturation in the terminal uronic acid residue. The maximum activity of the chondroitinase ABC occurs at 30°C and at pH 6.0–7.5. Only 15% of the activity was observed at 37°C, indicating that the enzyme is very sensitive to thermal denaturation. It is stronly inhibited by phosphate ions and is also inhibited by the unsaturated disaccharides formed.     

Biochemical composition and heterogeneity of heparan sulfates isolated from AH-130 ascites hepatoma cells and fluid

The glycosaminoglycan composition of AH-130 ascites hepatoma cells and fluid were examined using enzymatic digestion, electrophoresis, and sequential partition fractionation. The cell-associated glycosaminoglycans were found to consist of 93% heparan sulfate, with the remainder consisting primarily of chondroitin sulfate. The glycosaminoglycans isolated from the ascitic fluid were found to consist of 58% heparan sulfate, 26% hyaluronic acid and 16% chondroitin sulfate. Dermatan sulfate was not detected in either cells or fluid. The heparan sulfate isolated from AH-130 cells is low-sulfate and highly heterogeneous with respect to biochemical composition. Fractions isolated by partition fractionation varied from 0.14 mol sulfate/mol uronic acid to 0.6 mol sulfate/mol uronic acid. Of the total sulfate 70–80% is N-sulfate in the former and 50% in the latter. Electrophoresis in 0.1 M HCl showed a highly heterogeneous material with mobility between that of hyaluronic acid and beef lung heparan sulfate. The heparan sulfate isolated from the fluid was similar to that isolated from the cells but was, however, somewhat more homogeneous with respect to charge.     

Chondroitinase C from Flavobacterium heparinum.

A chondroitinase that acts upon chondroitin sulfate C and hyaluronic acid was isolated from Flavobacterium heparinum. This enzyme was seperated from constitutional chondroitinase AC and an induced chondroitinase B also present in extracts of F. heparinum previously grown in the presence of chondroitin sulfates A, B or C. The enzyme acts upon chondroitin sulfate C producing tetrasaccharide plus an unsaturated 6-sulfated disaccharide (delta Di-6S), and upon hyaluronic acid producing unsaturated nonsulfated disaccharide (delta Di-OS). Chondroitin sulfate A is also degraded producing oligosaccharides and delta Di-6S but not delta Di-4S. The chondroitinase C is also distinguished from the chondroitinases B and AC by several properties, such as effect of ions, temperature for optimal activity, and susceptibility to increasing salt concentrations. The substrate specificity of the chondroitinase C is different from that of any other chondroitinase or hyaluronidase described so far.     

Isolation and characterization of an induced chondroitinase ABC from Flavobacterium heparinum

During the investigation of alternative methods for the large scale preparation of chondroitinases AC, B and C from Flavobacterium heparinum, a new chondroitinase activity was observed. This new enzyme, like the other chondroitinases, acts as an eliminase, forming unsaturated sulfated disaccharides from dermatan and chondroitin sulfates. In contrast to the chondroitinases previously described, which are endoglycosidases, this chondroitinase ABC cleaves the glycosidic linkages in an exolytic fashion, beginning at the reducing end of the substrate molecules. The oligosaccharides formed as transient products by the action of either chondroitinases or testicular hyaluronidase upon dermatan and chondroitin sulfates are also rapidly degraded by the chondroitinase ABC, regardless of their size or the presence of delta-4,5 unsaturation in the terminal uronic acid residue. The maximum activity of the chondroitinase ABC occurs at 30 degrees C and at pH 6.0-7.5. Only 15% of the activity was observed at 37 degrees C, indicating that the enzyme is very sensitive to thermal denaturation. It is strongly inhibited by phosphate ions and is also inhibited by the unsaturated disaccharides formed.     

Rabbit antibodies to degraded and intact glycosaminoglycans which are naturally occurring and present in arthritic rabbits

Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and radioimmunoassays employing chondroitinase ABC-treated rabbit cartilage proteoglycan, we have shown that approximately one-third of the outbred New Zealand white rabbits we have examined possess naturally occurring antibodies which react with oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid (independently of chain length) bearing saturated and 4,5-unsaturated glucuronosyl residues at the nonreducing ends. Such antibodies were also found in a similar proportion of rabbits with an experimental inflammatory arthritis. There was a preferential reactions in the majority of sera with unsaturated oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid. One serum (R64) reacted only with unsaturated oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid. Sera reacted also with unsaturated (never saturated) oligosaccharides of chondroitin 4-sulfate and with chondroitin 6-sulfate, particularly when chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides remained bound to a proteoglycan core protein. Reactions were also observed to both unsaturated and saturated oligosaccharides of chondroitin. Some of these sera also reacted with intact hyaluronic acid and chondroitin but never with intact chondroitin sulfate. The antibodies were present in the IgG fraction of four sera studied and in the IgM fraction of one of these sera: they bound through the F(ab')2 region of the molecule. These observations suggest that, in some rabbits, humoral immunity to hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin sulfate bound to core protein can develop after these reactive glycosaminoglycans have been degraded by eliminases or hydrolases produced by naturally occurring bacteria and rabbit cells, respectively. Immunological studies of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid treated with eliminases and hydrolases employing rabbit antisera, and possibly those from other species, should be evaluated in the light of these observations.     

Fractionation and isolation of heparan sulfates using poly-L-lysine-Sepharose

A simple procedure for the isolation of heparan sulfates from pig lung using a poly-L-lysine-Sepharose column is described. Glycosaminoglycans are absorbed on poly-L-lysine-Sepharose at pH 7.5 and eluted with an NaCl linear gradient in the following order: hyaluronic acid (0.32 M NaCl), chondroitin (0.36 M NaCl), keratan sulfate (0.80 M NaCl), chondroitin 4-sulfate (0.86 M NaCl), chondroitin 6-sulfate (0.95 M NaCl), dermatan sulfate (0.91 M NaCl), heparan sulfate (1.2 M NaCl), and heparin (1.35 M NaCl). Based on these observations, isolation of heparan sulfate from pig lung crude heparan sulfate fractions which contain chondroitin sulfates and dermatan sulfate was attempted, using this chromatographic technique.     

Electrophoretic separation and characterization of urinary glycosaminoglycans and their roles in urolithiasis

Urinary polyanions recovered from the urine samples of kidney stone-formers and normal controls were subjected to preparative agarose gel electrophoresis, which yielded fractions 1-5 in a decreasing order of mobility. In both groups, chondroitin sulfates were identified in the fast-moving fractions and heparan sulfates in the slow-moving fractions. Furthermore, two types of heparan sulfates were identified based on their electrophoretic mobility: slow-moving and fast-moving. The fractionated urinary polyanions were then tested in an in vitro calcium oxalate crystallization assay and compared at the same uronic acid concentration, whereby, the chondroitin sulfates of stone-formers and heparan sulfates of normals enhanced crystal nucleation. Fraction 5 of the normals, containing glycoproteins (14-97 kDa) and associated glycosaminoglycans, were found to effectively inhibit crystallization. Papainization of this fraction in stone-formers revealed crystal-suppressive effects of glycoproteins, which was not seen in similar fractions of normals. It was concluded that glycoproteins could modulate the crystal-enhancing glycosaminoglycans such as chondroitin sulfates of stone-formers but not in normals. The differing crystallization activities of electrophoretic fraction 1 of normals and stone-formers revealed the presence of another class of glycosaminoglycan-hyaluronan. Hence, in the natural milieu, different macromolecules combine to have an overall outcome in the crystallization of calcium oxalate.     

A simple and rapid electrophoretic method for the separation of glucuronic acid and iduronic acid

A new electrophoretic method using Titan III cellulose acetate plates has been developed for the separation and quantitation of glucuronic acid and iduronic acid. This method is quite simple, and glucuronic acid and iduronic acid can be separated within 50 min. This method was applied to the analyses of uronic acids in chondroitin sulfates A and C, and dermatan sulfate.     

Immunohistochemical Techniques for Detection of Dermatan Sulfate Proteoglycan in Tissue Sections

Dermatan sulfate proteoglycan chains were detected in tissue sections treated with chondroitin Blyase (0.01 units/ml) in 20 mM Tris-HC1 (pH 8.0) for i hr, followed by staining with antibody 9A2 specific for unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgdactosaa- m i n d sulfate. In contrast, after treatment with chondroitin B-lyase, no positive stpining was observed with antibodies 3B3 and 1B5 which react to the unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfate and unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactospmine, respectively. The distribution of dermatan sulfate thus revealed was mnfirmed by comparison with that found by monoclonal antibody 6B6 which reacts with small pmteoglycans carrying dermatan sulfate side chains. The localization of positive staining in fib- connective tissues was almost identical with these two procedures.     

Immunohistochemical techniques for detection of dermatan sulfate proteoglycan in tissue sections

Dermatan sulfate proteoglycan chains were detected in tissue sections treated with chondroitin B-lyase (0.01 units/ml) in 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) for 1 hr, followed by staining with antibody 9A2 specific for unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine-4 sulfate. In contrast, after treatment with chondroitin B-lyase, no positive staining was observed with antibodies 3B3 and 1B5 which react to the unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfate and unsaturated uronic acid coupled to N-acetylgalactosamine, respectively. The distribution of dermatan sulfate thus revealed was confirmed by comparison with that found by monoclonal antibody 6B6 which reacts with small proteoglycans carrying dermatan sulfate side chains. The localization of positive staining in fibrous connective tissues was almost identical with these two procedures.     

On the structure of heparitin sulfates. Analyses of the products formed from heparitin sulfates by two heparitinases and a heparinase from Flavobacterium heparinum.

The analyses of the products formed from heparitin sulfates by the action of two heparitinases and a heparinase from Flavorbacterium heparinum is reported. Heparitin sulfates A and B are degraded by heparitinase I yielding two disaccharides, one of them composed of N-acetylucosamine and an unsaturated uronic, joined by alpha(1 lead to 4) linkage, and the other, with the same composition but with an O-sulfate at the hexosamine moiety. A third disaccharide is also formed from heparitin sulfate B, by the action of the same enzyme, composed of glucosamine N-sulfate and an unsaturated uronic acid joined probably by alpha(1 lead to 4) linkage. Besides these three disaccharides, heparitin sulfate B yields, by the action of heparitinase I, an oligosaccharide (with an average molecular weight of 6000) which is completely degraded by the heparitinase II yielding a disaccharide composed of glucosamine 2,6-disulfate and unsaturated uronic acid. All the disaccharides are further degraded by alpha-glycuronidase from Flavobacterium heparinum yielding the respective monosaccharides. Based on these and other analyses the possible structures of the heparitin sulfates are proposed.     

Quantitative radiochromatographic analysis of the major groups of carbohydrates in cultured animal cells.

Procedures are described for selective quantitation of the monosaccharide content of glycogen, chondroitin sulfates, hyaluronic acid, glycoproteins, glycolipids, N-acetylneuraminic acid, and the phosphorylated carbohydrate pools in cultured animal cells. Monosaccharides are released from each type of carbohydrate by selective hydrolysis with enzymes and/or acid and are analyzed by radiochromatographic procedures which give reliable quantitative data with only a few nanomoles of each monosaccharide. Analyses of the entire spectrum of carbohydrates can be carried out using 7–8 mg of animal cell protein.     

Immunochemical analysis of cartilage proteoglycans. Radioimmunoassay of the molecules and the substructures.

Antibodies specifically reacting with the link proteins, the hyaluronic acid-binding region and chondroitin sulphate-peptides were used to design specific radioimmunoassay procedures. The sensitivity of the method used for the link protein was about 20 ng/ml, and the other two components could be determined at concentrations of about 2 ng/ml. The radioimmunoassay procedures were tested by using proteoglycan subfractions or fragments thereof. The procedures used to quantify link protein and hyaluronic acid-binding region showed no cross-interference. Fragments of trypsin-digested proteoglycan monomers still reacted in the radioimmunoassay for hyaluronic acid-binding region. Subfractions of proteoglycan monomers separated according to size had a gradually higher relative content of the hyaluronic acid-binding region compared with both chondroitin sulphate-peptides and uronic acid, when the molecules were smaller. The proteoglycans therefore may contain a variably large chondroitin sulphate-rich region, which has a constant substitution with polysaccharide side chains.     

Gas chromatographic assay of iduronic and glucuronic acids as aldonic acid butaneboronates

A gas chromatographic procedure has been developed for the analysis of uronic acids as aldonic acid butaneboronates. With these derivatives, aldoses frequently accompanying uronic acids in polysaccharide hydrolyzates are readily separated and measured. The method has been applied to the assay of iduronic and glucuronic acid released by enzymes associated with various mucopolysaccharidoses.     

Diagnostic methods for the determination of iduronic acid in oligosaccharides

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) was used for the determination of the acid hydrolysis products of L-iduronic acid containing oligosaccharides isolated from biological sources. This HPLC-PAD method was compared with gas chromatographic (GLC) methods. Since acid hydrolysis of oligosaccharides can produce a number of products, several uronic acid derivatives were prepared by chemical synthesis. These well characterized standards in conjunction with mass spectrometry allowed for the identification of most of the products of methanolysis or hydrolysis of glycosamino-glycans, which included chondroitin sulfates A and B (dermatan sulfate), heparin, and hyaluronic acid. (4 M) HCl in methanol 100 degrees C for 24 h was found to be optimum for GLC and 1 M aqueous HCl for 4 h at 100 degrees C for HPLC-PAD. All of the monosaccharides, hexosamines, and uronic acids could be separately identified in a single chromatographic step using either technique. Good resolution, high sensitivity (low microgram samples) and rapid analysis makes these methods particularly useful for the determination of small amounts of glycosaminoglycans and other glycoconjugates found in samples isolated from biological sources. These two techniques are specifically designed to allow the qualitative determination of the carbohydrate content and composition of samples whose carbohydrate composition and content is completely unknown.