Aggrecanases are ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type I motifs) proteases capable of primary (patho)physiological cleavage at specific Glu-Xaa bonds within the core protein of the hyaluronan-binding proteoglycan aggrecan. Accumulating evidence suggests that regulation of the activity of one such aggrecanase, ADAMTS-4 (or Aggrecanase-1), involves post-translational C-terminal processing (truncation) which modulates both glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-binding affinity and enzymatic activity. In the present study, we compared the effects of C-terminal truncation on the GAG-binding properties and aggrecanase activity of ADAMTS-5 (Aggrecanase-2) relative to three other ADAMTS family members, ADAMTS-9, ADAMTS-16 and ADAMTS-18. Full-length recombinant human ADAMTS-5 (M(r) approximately 85 kDa; ADAMTS-5p85) underwent autolytic cleavage during expression by CHO/A2 cells, and co-purified with C-terminally truncated (tr) isoforms of M(r) approximately 60 kDa (ADAMTS-5p60 and M(r) approximately 45 kDa (ADAMTS-5p45). All three ADAMTS-5 isoforms bound to sulfated GAGs (heparin and chondroitin sulfate (CS)). An ADAMTS-5p45 structural mimetic, terminating at Phe628 and comprising the catalytic domain, disintegrin-like domain and thrombospondin type I repeat (TSR)-1 domain (designated trADAMTS-5F628), also bound to heparin, and exhibited potent aggrecanase activity toward cleavage sites both in the aggrecan CS-2-attachment region (at Glu1771-Ala1772) and in the interglobular domain (at Glu373-Ala374). Further truncation (deletion of the TSR-1 domain) of ADAMTS-5 significantly reduced aggrecanase activity, although appreciable GAG (heparin)-binding affinity was maintained. Other TSR-1 domain-bearing truncated ADAMTS constructs demonstrating either positive GAG-binding ability (trADAMTS-9F649) or negligible GAG-affinity (trADAMTS-16F647 and trADAMTS-18F650) displayed comparably low aggrecanase activities. Thus, the presence of TSR-1 on truncated ADAMTSs appears to be necessary, but not sufficient, for effective aggrecanase-mediated catalysis of target Glu-Xaa bonds. Similarly, GAG-binding ability, irrespective of the presence of a TSR-1 domain, does not necessarily empower truncated ADAMTSs with proficient aggrecanase activity.

In healthy cartilage, effective weight-bearing requires a high concentration of intact aggrecan. Degradation and loss of aggrecan are features of osteoarthritis (OA). It is unclear whether ADAMTS-4, ADAMTS-5, or both of these aggrecanases from the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs) enzyme family, are responsible for aggrecanolysis in human OA, and at what stage of disease these enzymes are active. Several potential disease-modifying agents for OA include glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, diacerhein, and pentosan polysulfate; although their mechanisms of action in vivo are unknown, data from in vitro studies and animal models suggest that their efficacy might be partly due to inhibition of proinflammatory pathways that lead to downregulation of ADAMTS enzymes. Some histone deacetylase inhibitors that are successfully used to treat cancer can block ADAMTS-5 expression; however, these inhibitors will only be considered as potential therapies for OA if their toxicity is markedly reduced. ADAMTS inhibitors currently in development are expected to show excellent specificity now that crystal structures for several ADAMTS enzymes are available to guide drug design. ADAMTS-4 and ADAMTS-5 are appropriate targets for OA therapies, but ultimately, inhibitors of these enzymes will form only part of a larger arsenal of therapies.

BACKGROUND

Serum autoantibodies that cross-react with glycosaminoglycans have been proposed to play a significant role in specific tissue injury in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether serum immunoreactivity to glycosaminoglycans is present in patients with glaucoma who have aberrant serum autoantibodies to DNA, RNA, nuclear proteins, or retinal proteins, as proteoglycans and their glycosaminoglycan side chains are important components of the optic nerve head and its vasculature.

METHODS

We performed Western blotting using patient serum samples and human optic nerve head homogenates that were treated with or without specific glycosaminoglycan degrading enzymes. Monoclonal antibodies that recognize different determinants of glycosaminoglycans were used to identify specific substrate antigenicity. We compared the serum immunoreactivity to glycosaminoglycans in 60 age-matched patients with normal-pressure glaucoma, 36 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, and 20 control subjects by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, immunohistochemistry was performed to compare the distribution patterns of glycosaminoglycans in the optic nerve head of postmortem eyes of age-matched patients with normal-pressure glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, and control subjects.

RESULTS

Western blotting demonstrated that serum samples from patients with glaucoma who have circulating autoantibodies can recognize optic nerve head proteoglycans, including chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate. The level of serum autoantibodies binding purified chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was approximately 100% higher in patients with normal-pressure glaucoma than that in control subjects and approximately 50% higher than that in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. We also observed increased immunostaining of glycosaminoglycans in the optic nerve head of eyes with glaucoma, particularly those with normal intraocular pressure, compared with control eyes.

CONCLUSIONS

There are increased levels of autoantibodies recognizing glycosaminoglycans of the optic nerve head in the serum samples of some patients with glaucoma.

CONCLUSIONS

These autoantibodies may increase the susceptibility of the optic nerve head to damage in these patients by changing the functional properties of the lamina cribrosa, its vasculature, or both.

The mechanism by which the cell synthesizes and secretes extracellular matrix (ECM) and is, in turn, regulated by the ECM is termed dynamic reciprocity. The aim of the present work was to produce a gelatin/chondoitin-6-sulfate/hyaluronan tri-copolymer to mimic natural cartilage matrix for use as a scaffold for cartilage tissue engineering. The scaffold produced had a uniform pore size of about 180 microm and adequate porosity of 75%. Porcine chondrocytes were seeded onto the tri-copolymer scaffold and cultured in Petri dishes or spinner flasks for 2, 3, 4, or 5 weeks. Chondrocytes were uniformly distributed in the scaffold in the spinner flask cultures, but less so in the Petri dish cultures. Secretion of ECM was found under histology examination. In spinner flask cultures, chondrocytes retained their phenotype for at least 5 weeks, as shown immunohistochemically, and synthesized type II collagen. These results show that gelatin/chondroitin sulfate/hyaluronan tri-copolymer has potential for use as a cartilage tissue engineering scaffold.

The "response-to-retention" hypothesis of atherogenesis states that atherogenic lipoproteins, such as low density lipoprotein (LDL), are retained in vessels by proteoglycans and undergo proatherosclerotic modifications. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 has been identified in atherosclerotic vessels and has been shown to stimulate the synthesis of chondroitin sulfate- and dermatan sulfate-containing proteoglycans by arterial smooth muscle cells (ASMCs), but whether it promotes lipid retention has not been addressed. We investigated whether TGF-beta1 modulates the biosynthesis of proteoglycans by ASMCs in a manner that promotes binding to LDL. Proteoglycans isolated from TGF-beta1-treated ASMCs exhibited enhanced binding to native LDL compared with the binding of proteoglycans isolated from control cultures (K(d) 18 microg/mL LDL versus 81 microg/mL LDL, respectively). The increase in proteoglycan-LDL binding caused by TGF-beta1 could be attributed primarily to the glycosaminoglycan portion of the proteoglycans, since the glycosaminoglycan chains liberated from the core proteins of these proteoglycans synthesized in the presence of TGF-beta1 exhibited increased LDL binding as well. Furthermore, glycosaminoglycan chains initiated on xyloside (an initiator of glycosaminoglycan synthesis) in the presence of TGF-beta1 were longer and displayed enhanced binding to LDL compared with the LDL binding of xyloside-initiated glycosaminoglycan chains from control cultures. These results indicate that TGF-beta1 promotes LDL-proteoglycan interaction primarily by its effects on the glycosaminoglycan synthetic machinery of the ASMCs. Therefore, this study supports a proatherogenic role for TGF-beta1.

Simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 (SV-3T3) cells have been shown to possess on their surfaces binding sites for hyaluronate which mediate the divalent cation independent aggregation of these cells. To further characterize these binding sites, membranes were prepared from SV-3T3 cells and solubilized with the detergent, sodium deoxycholate. The binding activity present in the detergent solution was measured by the addition of [3H]hyaluronate followed by separation of free and bound ligand by (NH4)2SO4 precipitation. Using this assay, the soluble hyaluronate-binding protein was compared with the membrane-associated protein in situ. In both cases, binding was found to be saturable, linear with protein content, competitively inhibited by unlabeled hyaluronate and dependent on a minimum of 6 sugar residues of hyaluronate for recognition. However, the solubilized binding protein was found to differ from the membrane-associated protein in the following characteristics: a) the affinity of the interaction with hyaluronate was reduced (the Kd was higher), while the amount of ligand bound at saturation (Bmax) was increased; b) in competition experiments with unlabeled preparations of hyaluronate, the effect that the MWv of the hyaluronate had on its inhibitory potency was greatly reduced; and c) the binding was inhibited to a greater extent by chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate. All of these differences can be accounted for by assuming that the detergent solubilization changes the nature of the hyaluronate-binding site interaction from one that is multivalent (i.e. one molecule of hyaluronate is attached to several sites) to one that is monovalent.

Human beta1,3-glucuronyltransferase I (GlcAT-I) is a central enzyme in the initial steps of proteoglycan synthesis. GlcAT-I transfers a glucuronic acid moiety from the uridine diphosphate-glucuronic acid (UDP-GlcUA) to the common linkage region trisaccharide Gal beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Xyl covalently bound to a Ser residue at the glycosaminylglycan attachment site of proteoglycans. We have now determined the crystal structure of GlcAT-1 at 2.3 A in the presence of the donor substrate product UDP, the catalytic Mn(2+) ion, and the acceptor substrate analog Gal beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Xyl. The enzyme is a alpha/beta protein with two subdomains that constitute the donor and acceptor substrate binding site. The active site residues lie in a cleft extending across both subdomains in which the trisaccharide molecule is oriented perpendicular to the UDP. Residues Glu(227), Asp(252), and Glu(281) dictate the binding orientation of the terminal Gal-2 moiety. Residue Glu(281) is in position to function as a catalytic base by deprotonating the incoming 3-hydroxyl group of the acceptor. The conserved DXD motif (Asp(194), Asp(195), Asp(196)) has direct interaction with the ribose of the UDP molecule as well as with the Mn(2+) ion. The key residues involved in substrate binding and catalysis are conserved in the glucuronyltransferase family as well as other glycosyltransferases.

Reactive astrogliosis impedes axonal regeneration after injuries to the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Here we report that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), combined with transplanted Schwann cells (SCs), effectively reversed the inhibitory properties of astrocytes at graft-host interfaces allowing robust axonal regeneration, concomitant with vigorous migration of host astrocytes into SC-seeded semi-permeable guidance channels implanted into a right-sided spinal cord hemisection at the 10th thoracic (T10) level. Within the graft, migrated host astrocytes were in close association with regenerated axons. Astrocyte processes extended parallel to the axons, implying that the migrated astrocytes were not inhibitory and might have promoted directional growth of regenerated axons. In vitro, GDNF induced migration of SCs and astrocytes toward each other in an astrocyte-SC confrontation assay. GDNF also enhanced migration of astrocytes on a SC monolayer in an inverted coverslip migration assay, suggesting that this effect is mediated by direct cell-cell contact between the two cell types. Morphologically, GDNF administration reduced astrocyte hypertrophy and induced elongated process extension of these cells, similar to what was observed in vivo. Notably, GDNF treatment significantly reduced production of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), two hallmarks of astrogliosis, in both the in vivo and in vitro models. Thus, our study demonstrates a novel role of GDNF in modifying spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced astrogliosis resulting in robust axonal regeneration in adult rats.

Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells are target cells in vivo for porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) replication. The porcine monocytic cell line 3D4/31 supports PCV2 replication in vitro, and attachment and internalization kinetics of PCV2 have been established in these cells. However, PCV2 receptors remain unknown. Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) are used by several viruses as receptors. The present study examined the role of GAG in attachment and infection of PCV2. Heparin, heparan sulfate (HS), chondroitin sulfate B (CS-B), but not CS-A, and keratan sulfate reduced PCV2 infection when these GAG were incubated with PCV2 prior to and during inoculation of 3D4/31 cells. Enzymatic removal of HS and CS-B prior to PCV2 inoculation of 3D4/31 cells significantly reduced PCV2 infection. Similarly, when PCV2 virus-like particles (VLP) were allowed to bind onto 3D4/31 cells in the presence of heparin and CS-B, attachment was strongly reduced. Titration of field isolates and low- and high-passage laboratory strains of PCV2 in the presence of heparin significantly reduced PCV2 titers, showing that the capacity of PCV2 to bind GAG was not acquired during in vitro cultivation but is an intrinsic feature of wild-type virus. When Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were inoculated with PCV2, relative percentages of PCV2-infected cells were 27% +/- 8% for HS-deficient and 12% +/- 10% for GAG-deficient cells compared to wild-type cells (100%). Furthermore, it was shown using heparin-Sepharose chromatography that both PCV2 and PCV2 VLP directly interacted with heparin. Together, these results show that HS and CS-B are attachment receptors for PCV2.

Labeling central nervous tissue from mature animals with antibodies to NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan reveals the existence of large numbers of NG2 positive cells, at least some of which are oligodendroglial progenitors. It is generally agreed that these cells differ from the classically defined neuroglia, since they are antigenetically different from astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, or microglial cells. Although the NG2 positive cells have been well characterized in light microscopic preparations, examination of the labeled cells by electron microscopy have not led to general agreement about their morphological features. The basic reason for this is that it is difficult to obtain good preservation of the fine structure of NG2 labeled neurons. Since these NG2 positive cells are abundant in the central nervous system, it was decided to examine routinely prepared tissue from the brains of mature monkeys and rats by electron microscopy to determine if there is a neuroglial cell type whose presence has been overlooked. It soon became evident that there is a fourth type of neuroglial cell. These cells have pale, irregular shaped nuclei with a thin rim of heterochromatin beneath the nuclear envelope, and they have pale cytoplasm. Superficially they resemble astrocytes, which is the probable reason why the presence of this fourth type of neuroglial cell has been largely overlooked. However, the fourth type of neuroglial cell, here referred to as a ss neuroglial cell, has no intermediate filaments in its cytoplasm, the mitochondria are thinner than those of astrocytes, centrioles are frequently encountered in their cytoplasm, and when they are adjacent to capillaries they are always separated from the basal membrane by an astrocytic processes.

Heparin-binding growth factor-2 (HBGF-2; also known as basic fibroblast growth factor) is mitogenic for most anchorage-dependent cells. It is shown here that HBGF-2 stimulates cell-substratum adhesion and neurite extension in the sympathetic nerve cell line PC12. When HBGF-2 is adsorbed to artificial extracellular matrices consisting of heparin or chondroitin sulfate, it causes the formation of cellular aggregates or circles of cells, respectively. HBGF-2 is also a nerve cell survival molecule, for it potentiates the survival of primary cultures of embryonic chick ciliary ganglion cells but not of embryonic neural retina cells. Finally, a series of synthetic peptides from the HBGF-2 sequence is described that selectively alter the biological effects of HBGF-2. The amphiphilic nature of one of these peptides is discussed with respect to its ability to stimulate cell adhesion.

Homeostasis of connective joint tissues depends on the maintenance of an extracellular matrix, consisting of an integrated assembly of collagens, glycoproteins, proteoglycans, and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Isomeric chondroitin sulfate (CS) glycoforms differing in position and degree of sulfation and uronic acid epimerization play specific and distinct functional roles during development and disease onset. This work profiles the CS epitopes expressed by different joint tissues as a function of age and osteoarthritis. GAGs were extracted from joint tissues (cartilage, tendon, ligment, muscle, and synovium) and partially depolymerized using chondroitinase enzymes. The oligosaccharide products were differentially stable isotope labeled by reductive amination using 2-anthranilic acid-d(0) or -d(4) and subjected to amide-hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) online LC-MS/MS. The analysis presented herein enables simultaneous profiling of the expression of nonreducing end, linker region, and Delta-unsaturated interior oligosaccharide domains of the CS chains among the different joint tissues. The results provide important new information on the changes to the expression of CS GAG chains during disease and development.

The ability to undergo experience-dependent plasticity in the neocortex is often limited to early development, but also to particular cortical loci and specific experience. In layers II-IV of the barrel cortex, plasticity evoked by removing all but one vibrissae (univibrissa rearing) does not have a time limit except for layer IV barrels, where it can only be induced during the first postnatal week. In contrast, deprivation of every second vibrissa (chessboard deprivation) removes time limits for plasticity. The mechanism permitting plasticity in response to chessboard deprivation and halting it in reply to univibrissa rearing is unknown. Condensation of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans into perineuronal nets and an increase in intracortical inhibition mediated by parvalbumin-containing interneurons are implicated in closing the critical period for ocular dominance plasticity. These factors could also be involved in setting up the critical period in barrels in a way that depends on a particular sensory experience. We therefore examined changes in density of parvalbumin-containing cells and perineuronal nets during development of mouse barrel cortex and after brief univibrissa and chessboard experience in adolescence. We observed a progressive increase in the density of the two markers across cortical layers between postnatal day 10 and 20, which was especially pronounced in the barrels. Univibrissa rearing, but not chessboard deprivation, increased the density of perineuronal nets and parvalbumin-containing cells in the deprived barrels, but only those that immediately neighbour the undeprived barrel. These data suggest the involvement of both tested factors in closing the critical period in barrels in an experience-dependent manner.

Dermatan sulfate (DS) chains are variants of chondroitin sulfate (CS) that are expressed in mammalian extracellular matrices and are particularly prevalent in skin. DS has been implicated in varied biological processes including wound repair, infection, cardiovascular disease, tumorigenesis, and fibrosis. The biological activities of DS have been attributed to its high content of IdoA(alpha1-3)GalNAc4S(beta1-4) disaccharide units. Mature CS/DS chains consist of blocks with high and low GlcA/IdoA ratios, and sulfation may occur at the 4- and/or 6-position of GalNAc and 2-position of IdoA. Traditional methods for the analysis of CS/DS chains involve differential digestion with specific chondroitinases followed by steps of chromatographic isolation of the products and di-saccharide analysis on the individual fraction. This work reports the use of tandem mass spectrometry to determine the patterns of sulfation and epimerization of CS/DS oligosaccharides in a single step. The approach is first validated and then applied to a series of skin DS samples and to decorins from three different tissues. DS samples ranged from 74 to 99% of CSB-like repeats, using this approach. Decorin samples ranged from 30% CSB-like repeats for those samples from articular cartilage to 75% for those from sclera. These values agree with known levels of glucuronyl C5-epimerase in these tissues.

A pathomorphological study was conducted to clarify the localization of Kupffer cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and such hyperplastic nodular lesions as adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH). Materials were surgical specimens of 50 HCCs, 7 AHs, and 13 FNHs. These tissues were immunohistochemically stained with an anti-human macrophage antibody (anti-CD68 antibody). Among CD68-positive cells, short spindle-shaped cells were considered as Kupffer cells, and Kupffer cell numbers in tumor lesions and surrounding liver tissues of each specimen were comparatively examined. As a result, the number of Kupffer cells in well-differentiated HCC tissues less than 1 cm in diameter was 27.8 +/- 3.3 (mean +/- SE/025 mm2); in noncancerous tissues, it was 302 +/- 3.2, showing no statistically significant differences. The number of Kupffer cells in cancerous tissues decreased in comparison with the number in noncancerous tissues, as the tumor size increased and histological grade decreased. In hyperplastic nodular lesions, the number was higher in nodular lesions than in the surrounding liver tissues in 4 of 7 AHs (57.1%) and 6 of 13 FNHs (46.2%). This could explain the reason why enhanced MRI, which utilizes the selective taken-up mechanism of chondroitin sulfate iron colloid and superparamagnetic iron oxide into the reticuloendothelial system of the liver and spleen, depicts well-differentiated HCC and AH at the same signal intensity as in the surrounding liver tissues. Our findings also indicate that there is a limitation in differentiating or diagnosing small HCC and hyperplastic nodular lesions by using enhanced MRI, which utilizes Kupffer cell functions.

The sulfated mucopolysaccharide composition of 22 species of invertebrates belonging to the phyla Arthropoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Tunicata, Echinodermata, Coelenterata, and Porifera was analyzed. It is shown that all the species contain variable amounts of one or more types of sulfated mocopolysaccharides, most of which similar to the ones found in vertebrates. It is shown also that each species has a characteristic composition, differing from each other regarding the relative amount and type of chondroitin sulfates A, B, and C, heparitin sulfate, and heparin. The possible biological role of the sulfated mucopolysaccharides in cell recognition or aggregation or both is discussed in view of the present findings.

Bone marrow-derived mast cells, differentiated in vitro, demonstrate surface IgE, receptors and contain histamine in metachromatic granules, which are composed of chondroitin sulfate E proteoglycan rather than heparin proteoglycan. Activation of this subclass of mast cells with calcium ionophore A23187 resulted in generation of immunoreactive C-6-sulfidopeptide leukotriene in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Isolation of immunoreactive C-6-sulfldopeptide leukotriene by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) revealed a retention time and a specific biologic activity identical to those of synthetic leukotriene C4 (LTC4). Neither radiolabeled nor immunoreactive conversion products of [3H]LTC4/LTC4 were recognized during RP-HPLC resolution of the supernatants. The failure of fresh bone marrow cultures to generate C-6-sulfidopeptide leukotriene in response to ionophore indicates that leukotriene generation is dependent upon cellular differentiation into a mast cell population. The amount of LTC4 generated during optimal ionophore stimulation, 90.9 +/- 7.5 ng per 10(6) cells, contrasts with the relatively low amounts of C-6-sulfidopeptide leukotriene generated by the conventional heparin-containing rat mast cells or mouse mastocytoma cells.

Heparinase was isolated from a transplantable mouse mastocytoma, by salt extraction of a particulate fraction sedimenting at 20,000 times g, followed by precipitation from saturated ammonium sulfate. By use of gel chromatography through Sepharose 4B, the enzyme was shown to degrade macromolecular. 35S-labeled, mastocytomal heparin (K-av about 0.25) to products similar in size to commercial heparin (K-av about 0.85), apparently by nonrandom cleavage of a limited number of glycosidic linkages per molecule. Prolonged incubation times (up to 5 days, with repeated addition of enzyme) did not result in further degradation of the product. No significant depolymerizing activity was observed with any other glycosaminoglycan tested, including chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate, and commercial heparin. The pH optimum for degradation of macromolecular heparin was around pH 5. The nature of the linkage cleaved by the heparinase was investigated by reduction of unlabeled polysaccharide degradation products with sodium [3H]borohydride. The degraded chains (but not the macromolecular substrate) incorporated significant amounts of tritium. An essentially monodisperse fraction of the labeled, degraded heparin was subjected to meniscus depletion sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation, indicating a molecular weight of 14,500. By relating the molecular weight to the specific activity of the preparation, the amount of reducible groups was calculated to be approximately one per molecule. The 3H-labeled heparin was degraded to monosaccharides by a combination of acid hydrolysis and cleavage due to deamination with nitrous acid. Analysis of the degradation products, by paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography, showed a major radioactive component which behaved like L-gulonic acid. Since [3H]gulonic acid would be the expected reduction product of a polysaccharide molecule, containing a glucuronic acid residue in terminal position, these results tentatively suggest that the heparinase is an endoglucuronidase. By direct deaminative cleavage (no hydrolysis) of the 3H-labeled heparin, the glucosamine unit in penultimate position (i.e. adjacent to the [3H]gulonic acid residue) was shown to be 52% N-sulfated and 48% N-acetylated. As only 14% of the glucosamine was N-acetylated in the macromolecular heparin substrate, it is suggested that cleavage of this polysaccharide, by the heparinase, occurs in regions more abundant in N-acetylated glucosamine residues than other portions of the molecule. The possibility that formation and degradation of macromolecular heparin occurs also in mammalian species other than rodents in discussed.

The primary mediators of cell migration during development, wound healing and metastasis, are receptors of the integrin family. In the developing and regenerating nervous system, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) inhibit the integrin-dependent migration of neuronal growth cones. Here we report that embryonic sensory neurons cultured on the growth-promoting molecule laminin in combination with the inhibitory CSPG aggrecan rapidly adapt to inhibition. Adaptation is associated with a two- to threefold increase in the levels of RNA and surface protein for two laminin receptors, integrin alpha6beta1 and alpha3beta1, indicating that integrin expression is regulated by aggrecan. Increased integrin expression is associated both with increases in neuronal cell adhesion/outgrowth and with decreases in the ability of aggrecan to inhibit cell adhesion. Directly increasing integrin expression by adenoviral infection is sufficient to eliminate the inhibitory effects of aggrecan, indicating that upregulation of integrin receptors may promote neuronal regeneration in the presence of inhibitory matrix components.

Versican is an extracellular matrix (ECM) proteoglycan that is synthesized as multiple splice variants. In a recent study, we demonstrated that retroviral-mediated overexpression of the variant V3, which lacks chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains, altered arterial smooth muscle cell (ASMC) phenotype in short-term cell culture. We now report that V3-overexpressing ASMCs exhibit significantly increased expression of tropoelastin and increased formation of elastic fibers in long-term cell cultures. In addition, V3-overexpressing ASMCs seeded into ballooned rat carotid arteries continued to overexpress V3 and, at 4 weeks after seeding, produced a highly structured neointima significantly enriched in elastic fiber lamellae. In contrast to the hydrated, myxoid neointima produced by rounded or stellate vector-alone--transduced cells, V3-expressing cells produced a compact and highly ordered neointima, which contained elongated ASMCs that were arranged in parallel arrays and separated by densely packed collagen bundles and elastic fibers. These results indicate that a variant of versican is involved in elastic fiber assembly and may represent a novel therapeutic approach to facilitate the formation of elastic fibers.

To study how cells regulate the composition of glycosaminoglycan chains on proteoglycans, we have examined the assembly of chains on chimeric proteoglycans containing segments of betaglycan (transforming growth factor-beta Type III receptors) fused to protein A. Transient expression of the chimeras in Chinese hamster ovary cells revealed that only two glycosaminoglycan attachment sites exist. One site at Ser535 supported both chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate synthesis, whereas the site at Ser546 supported only chondroitin sulfate. The compositions of the chimeras were the same in CHO-K1, CHOP-C4, BHK-21, and HeLa S3 cells and in chimeras containing polyhistidine fused to the C terminus. Deletion experiments showed that the assembly of heparan sulfate chains on the chimeras required a peptide segment of < or = 16 amino acids (SPGDSS535-GWPDGYEDLE) and the first 5 amino acids were not essential. Truncation of the acidic cluster (EDLE), site-directed mutation of the acidic residues in the cluster, or deletion of the sequence between the cluster and the Ser attachment site decreased heparan sulfate assembly. Mutation of Trp537 adjacent to the site also decreased heparan sulfate assembly. More importantly, introducing tryptophan next to three different Ser-Gly dipeptides in betaglycan and syndecan-1 chimeras stimulated assembly of heparan sulfate. Thus, one type of heparan sulfate attachment site consists of a Ser-Gly dipeptide and a flanking cluster of acidic residues. An adjacent tryptophan residue can augment the proportion of heparan sulfate.

The NG2 antigen, a chondroitin-sulfate proteoglycan, is a cell surface marker for a class of smooth protoplasmic astrocytes found throughout the brain and at high frequency in the cerebellar molecular layer (Levine and Card, 1987). To study the development of the cerebellar astrocytes at the level of the single cell, we have analyzed the distribution of the NG2 antigen by indirect immunofluorescence in dissociated cell cultures prepared from postnatal cerebella and compared that distribution to the distribution of several other cell surface and intracellular antigens that identify specific cell types in cultures of nervous tissue. When cerebellar cells from 5 d rat pups were grown in a medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, the NG2-labeled cells, which constituted 0.1-1.0% of the total glial cells present, contained glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-immunoreactive filaments and bound monoclonal antibody A2B5, a surface marker for neurons and some astrocytes. Approximately 30% of the NG2-labeled cells were also labeled with tetanus toxin, an additional surface marker for neurons and immature astrocytes. Less than 2% of the cells were labeled with antibodies against galactocerebroside or with monoclonal antibody O1, both of which are surface markers for oligodendrocytes. About half the NG2-labeled cells exhibited high-affinity uptake of 3H-GABA, and this uptake was partially inhibited by both beta-alanine and DABA. Thus, the NG2 antigen is a cell surface marker for a subpopulation of the type II or fibrous astrocytes present in the cultures. When the cerebellar cells were grown in a chemically defined, serum-free medium, the NG2-labeled cells had a stellate morphology and between 50-60% of the cells bound tetanus toxin. Although almost all the cells bound antibody A2B5, less than 5% of the cells expressed either of the oligodendrocyte surface markers or GFAP immunoreactivity. As was the case with cells grown in serum-containing medium, 60% of the NG2-labeled cells had high-affinity uptake of 3H-GABA. However, this uptake was inhibited by DABA but not by beta-alanine. This phenotype may be the in vitro analog of the NG2-labeled, filament-lacking, smooth protoplasmic astrocytes identified in the intact adult cerebellum. The expression of these 2 phenotypes could be reversed by switching the tissue culture medium within 5 d of plating the cells. These results demonstrate that the in vitro environment can influence the phenotypic properties expressed by developing cerebellar astrocytes and suggest that smooth protoplasmic astrocytes may be developmentally related to glial cells of the O-2A lineage.

Background. Pregnant women are infected by Plasmodium falciparum with novel antigenic phenotypes that adhere to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) and other receptors in the placenta. The diverse and variant parasite protein P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), which is encoded by var genes, is a ligand for CSA and a major target of antibodies associated with protective immunity.Methods. Serum samples from pregnant women exposed to malaria were tested for immunoglobulin G, adhesion-inhibitory antibodies, and agglutinating antibodies to different CSA-binding isolates expressing conserved var2csa-type genes and to parasite isolates from infected placentas. Parasite isolates also were examined to assess PfEMP1 expression, the effect of trypsin treatment of infected erythrocytes on parasite adhesion and cleavage of PfEMP1, and inhibition of adhesion by rabbit antiserum raised against a CSA-binding isolate.Results. Findings demonstrated that (1) there are significant antigenic differences between CSA-binding isolates that correspond with polymorphisms in var2csa; (2) there are differences in the properties of PfEMP1 and antibody reactivity between CSA-binding and placental isolates, which express multiple PfEMP1 forms; (3) acquired antibodies target diverse and cross-reactive epitopes expressed by CSA-binding infected erythrocytes, and cross-reactive antibodies are not necessarily cross-inhibitory; and (4) the breadth of antibody reactivity is greater among multigravidae than among primigravidae.Conclusions. Immunity may be mediated by a repertoire of antibodies to diverse and common epitopes. Strategies based on vaccination with a single domain or isolate might be hindered by antigenic diversity.

Malaria during pregnancy continues to be a major health problem in endemic countries, with clinical consequences, including death, for both mother and child. Just as cerebral malaria results from parasite sequestration in the brain, maternal malaria results from parasite sequestration in the placenta, and a distinct subpopulation of parasites which bind chondroitin sulfate A but not CD36 causes the syndrome. Women have little or no immunological experience with this parasite prior to first pregnancy, making primigravid women particularly vulnerable to infection. Parasites adhere to the surface of trophoblastic villi, eliciting the accumulation of inflammatory leukocytes in the intervillous space, and the necrosis of adjacent placental tissue. Maternal malaria results in poor pregnancy outcomes, although the responsible mechanisms have not been defined. In holoendemic areas both placental infection and poor outcome decrease in frequency with successive pregnancies; protection may result from control of parasite adhesion, suggesting an attractive target for new therapies.