Proteoglycan was isolated from cartilage and freed from contaminating glycoproteins and hyaluronic acid. The macromolecule consists of a protein core covalently linked to a number of glycosaminoglycan side chains, namely chondroitin sulphate and keratan sulphate. This proteoglycan retards the attachment of a variety of cell types to tissue culture plastic and to collagen. Glycosaminoglycans alo...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES We investigated the anti-osteoarthritic effects of deer bone extract on the gene expressions of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and collagen type II (COL2) in interleukin-1β-induced osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes. MATERIALS/METHODS Primary rabbit chondrocytes were treated as follows: CON (PBS treatment), NC (IL-1β treatment), PC (IL-1β + 100 µg/mL glucosamine sulphate...

The mechanisms regulating the secretion of proteoglycans and collagens in chondrocytes, in particular those operating at the level of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), are largely unknown. To examine these mechanisms, I studied the effects of acute ascorbate treatment on the secretion of two collagen types (types II and IX) and two proteoglycan types (PG-H and PG-Lb, the major keratan sulp...

In a case of neuroblastoma the presence of an abnormal blood constituent was suspected from the raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate, sludging of the red cells, marked rouleaux formation, an atypical Leishman stain, increased plasma viscosity, and a distorted protein electrophoresis pattern. The abnormal constituent was shown to be a mucopolysaccharide which was either hyaluronic acid or chond...

1. Cyclofenil diphenol (F6060), a weak non-steroidal oestrogen, was shown previously to inhibit [35S]proteoglycan synthesis [Mason, Lineham, Phillipson & Black (1984) Biochem. J. 223, 401-412] and to induce fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus into small vesicles [Lancaster, Fryer, Griffiths & Mason (1989) J. Cell Sci. 92, 271-280] in cultures of Swarm chondrosarcoma chondrocytes. Two structura...

We used ELISA and flow cytometry to study the binding of prion protein PrP to glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). We found that recombinant human PrP (rPrP) binds GAGs including chondroitin sulphate A, chondroitin sulphate B, hyaluronic acid, and heparin. rPrP binding to GAGs occurs via the N-terminus, a region known to bind divalent cations. Additionally, rPrP binding to GAGs is enhanced in the presenc...

Analyses of X-ray diffraction patterns obtained from ordered specimens of a variety of polyuronides have provided the opportunity to examine their molecular geometry in the condensed phase. A brief review is given of the simpler homopolysaccharide components of alginic acid, followed by the connective tissue polydisaccharides: hyaluronic acid, the chondroitin suiphates, dermatan sulphate, hepar...