Borrelia burgdorferi adhere to mammalian cells in vitro but neither the ligand(s) nor the receptor(s) has (have) been clearly established. Using an in vitro attachment-inhibition assay, a B. burgdorferi attachment mechanism has been identified. Heparin, heparan sulfate, and dermatan sulfate reduced the attachment of virulent B. burgdorferi strain 297 to HeLa cells by approximately 60%. In addit...

Endogenous pleiotrophin and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) mediate the neurite outgrowth-promoting activity of chondroitin sulfate (CS)/dermatan sulfate (DS) hybrid chains isolated from embryonic pig brain. CS/DS hybrid chains isolated from shark skin have a different disaccharide composition, but also display these activities. In this study, pleiotrophin- and HGF-binding domains in shark skin ...

Foetal human lung fibroblasts, grown in monolayer, were allowed to incorporate 35SO42for various periods of time. 35S-labelled macromolecular anionic products were isolated from the medium, a trypsin digest of the cells in monolayer and the cell residue. The various radioactive polysaccharides were identified as heparan sulphate and a galactosaminoglycan population (chondroitin sulphate and der...

Sulfated macromolecules synthesized in tumor and mucosa tissues derived from colorectal cancer patients were labeled with [35S]sulfate and separated into two fractions on DEAE-Sephacel: the slightly acidic peak (peak I) was eluted with 0.2 M NaCl and the highly acidic peak (peak II) was eluted with 0.5 M NaCl. A total of 40 specimens, which included primary colon cancer, liver metastases, and n...

Transplantation of Schwann cells (SCs) is a promising therapeutic strategy for spinal cord repair. SCs introduced into lesions support axon regeneration, but because these axons do not exit the transplant, additional approaches with SCs are needed. Here, we transplanted SCs genetically modified to secrete a bifunctional neurotrophin (D15A) and chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) into a subacute contusio...

The interaction between a small dermatan sulphate proteoglycan isolated from human uterine cervix and collagen type I from human and rat skin was investigated by collagen-fibrillogenesis experiments. Collagen fibrillogenesis was initiated by elevation of temperature and pH after addition of proteoglycan, chondroitinase-digested proteoglycan or isolated side chains, and monitored by turbidimetry...