PURPOSE To investigate the role of hyaluronan (HA) and elucidate the mechanisms that regulate the expression of hyaluronan-synthesizing enzymes in vascular endothelial cells (VECs) in intraocular proliferative diseases. METHODS Cultured VECs were used. Hyaluronan synthase (HAS) expression was determined on the mRNA products obtained by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)....

PURPOSE Nanoparticles are a promising alternative for ocular drug delivery, and our group has proposed that they are especially suited for ocular mucosal disorders. The goal of the present study was to determine which internalization pathway is used by cornea-derived and conjunctiva-derived cell lines to take up hyaluronic acid (HA)-chitosan oligomer (CSO)-based nanoparticles (HA-CSO NPs). We a...

The functional consequences of increased renal cortical hyaluronan that is associated with both acute injury and progressive scarring are unclear. The aim of this study was to characterize hyaluronan synthase-2 (HAS2)-driven HA synthesis and determine its effect on renal proximal tubular epithelial cell (PTC) function, because this is known to be the inducible form of HA synthase in this cell t...

Many human diseases are associated with harmful action of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species are involved in the degradation of essential tissue or related components. One of such components is synovial fluid that contains a high-molecular-weight polymer--hyaluronan (HA). Uninhibited and/or inhibited hyaluronan degradation by the action of various ROS has been studied in many in vitro...

Hyaluronic acid (HA or hyaluronan) is a natural, high molecular weight, linear polysaccharide composed of alternating N-acetyl glucosamine and glucuronic acid disaccharide units. HA is ubiquitous in human and animal tissues. It is found in the vitreous body, in the extracellular matrix of soft connective tissues, and in the synovial fluids. By supplementing the body’s level of glycosaminoglycan...

BACKGROUND We previously reported that the USP17 deubiquitinating enzyme having hyaluronan binding motifs (HABMs) interacts with human SDS3 (suppressor of defective silencing 3) and specifically deubiquitinates Lys-63 branched polyubiquitination of SDS3 resulting in negative regulation of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in cancer cells. Furthermore, USP17 and SDS3 mutually interact with eac...

Recruitment of leukocytes from the bloodstream to inflamed tissues requires a carefully regulated cascade of binding interactions between adhesion molecules on leukocytes and endothelial cells. Adhesive interactions between CD44 and hyaluronan (HA) have been implicated in the regulation of immune cell trafficking within various tissues. In this review, the biology of CD44-HA interactions in cel...

Previous studies on bleomycin-induced alveolitis in rats have demonstrated a transient histological accumulation of hyaluronan (hyaluronate or hyaluronic acid) in the alveolar interstitium, corresponding to increases in hyaluronan (HA) levels in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung tissue extracts. The accumulation of HA was related to the influx of inflammatory cells, especially polymor...

A single intratracheal injection of bleomycin in rats induced, 4 days later, a considerable accumulation of hyaluronan (hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid) in the lung tissue. This connective tissue reaction was quantified biochemically by analysing hyaluronan (HA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and lung tissue extracts. The molecular weight of the HA recovered during lavage was 0.2-0.3 X 10(6...

A number of hyaluronan (HA) binding proteins such as soluble CD44, receptor for hyaluronan-mediated motility (RHAMM), and metastatin inhibit tumor growth and metastasis. To determine whether the HA binding motif is the element responsible for the antitumor effect of this family of proteins, we examined the biological activity of a 42-amino acid peptide (designated as BH-P) that contains three H...