The effect of beta-D-xylosides on chondroitin sulphate biosynthesis in embryonic chicken cartilage in the absence of protein synthesis inhibitors.
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ABSTRACT: Incorporation of [35S]]sulphate, [3H]glucose and [3H]serine into glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans of embryonic-chicken sternum was measured in vitro in incubation medium containing 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-xyloside or p-nitrophenyl beta-D-xyloside at low concentrations, and in the absence of inhibitors of protein synthesis. Incorporation of sulphate was decreased by 80% in incubations in which 1mM-4-methylumbelliferyl beta-xyloside or 2.5 mM-p-nitrophenyl beta-xyloside was present; under these conditions, serum factors stimulated incorporation to only a small extent. When the concentration of the xyloside was decreased tenfold, incorporation of sulphate was inhibited by 60-70%, but when normal human serum or L-3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine or both were also added to the incubation medium, incorporation was markedly stimulated. Experiments in which [35S]sulphate and [3H]glucose were incorporated simultaneously, and enzymic analysis of glycosaminoglycans formed in such experiments, indicated that chondroitin sulphate formed in the presence of 0.1 mM-4-methylumbelliferyl beta-xyloside contained 30-40% less sulphate than did chondrotin sulphate synthesized in the absence of xylosides. Similar experiments, with [3H]serine instead of [3H]glucose, suggested also a 20-30% decrease in chain length of the chondroitin sulphate; this was confirmed by direct gel filtration of labelled glycosaminoglycans on a calibrated column. Incorporation of [3H]glucose or [3H]serine was stimulated by serum and tri-iodothyronine in parallel with incorporation of sulphate. The changes seen in the total chondroitin sulphate were mirrored in the major proteoglycan fraction, purified by isopycnic centrifugation of salt-extracted proteoglycans. The labelling pattern of chondroitin sulphate from this proteoglycan indicated that decreased sulphation of chondroitin sulphate was largely due to the inferior ability of short polysaccharide chains to accept sulphate, with some direct interference with transfer of sulphate to all chains. The results also suggested that the action of serum factors on synthesis of proteochondroitin sulphate is exercised at the level of either protein synthesis or transport to the sites of initiation of polysaccharide synthesis.
Project description:The incorporation of [3H]acetate into chondroitin sulphate was used as a measure of the rate of synthesis of this polysaccharide in whole tibias and femurs of embryonic chicken cartilage in vitro. The incorporation is inhibited by puromycin and by cycloheximide, but the inhibition is relieved by the addition of D-xylose, beta-D-xylosides and beta-D-galactosides to the incubation medium. Beta-D-Xylosides can stimulate the incorporation to 300% of that of controls incubated in the absence of cycloheximide or puromycin, D-Xylose, beta-D-xylosides and beta-D-galactosides appear to act as artificial initiators of chondroitin sulphate synthesis and enable polysaccharide-chain synthesis to be studied as an event separate from the synthesis of intact proteoglycan.
Project description:1. Whole tissue preparations and subcellular fractions from embryonic chicken cartilage were used to measure the rate of incorporation of inorganic sulphate into chondroitin sulphate in vitro. 2. In cartilage from 14-day-old embryos, [(35)S]sulphate is incorporated to an equal extent into chondroitin 4-sulphate and chondroitin 6-sulphate at a rate of 1.5nmoles of sulphate/hr./mg. dry wt. of cartilage. 3. Microsomal and soluble enzyme preparations from embryonic cartilage catalyse the transfer of sulphate from adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-sulphatophosphate into both chondroitin 4-sulphate and chondroitin 6-sulphate. 4. The effects of pH, ionic strength, adenosine 3'-phosphate 5'-sulphatophosphate concentration and acceptor chondroitin sulphate concentration on the soluble sulphotransferase activity were examined. These factors all influence the activity of the sulphotransferase, and pH and incubation time also influence the percentage of chondroitin 4-sulphate formed.
Project description:Embryonic-chicken epiphyseal cartilage was incubated in vitro with a variety of beta-xylosides and the amount of [3H]acetate incorporation into chondroitin sulphate was determined under conditions when normal protein core production was inhibited by cycloheximide. The ability of the different beta-xylosides to relieve thea cycloheximide-mediated inhibition of chondroitin sulphate synthesis was influenced by the nature of the aglycan group of te xyloside. beta-Xylosides with apolar and uncharged aglycan groups were most effective and produced a severalfold stimulation of chondroitin sulphate biosynthesis. beta-Xylosides with charged aglycan groups were less effective initiators of chondroitin sulphate synthesis. The rate of galactose transfer from UDP-galactose to each of the beta-xylosides, catalysed by a cell-free microsomal preparation from embryonic cartilage, was measured. This study showed that the nature of the aglycan group of the beta-xyloside was a factor determining the capacity of the xyloside to act as an acceptor for galactosyltransferase I, the enzyme that catalyses the first galactose transfer reaction of chondroitin sulphate synthesis. The aglycan group of the xyloside also appeared to influence other steps leading to chondroitin sulphate chain initiation in vitro.
Project description:A biologically active, high-strength tissue adhesive is needed for numerous medical applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Integration of biomaterials or implants with surrounding native tissue is crucial for both immediate functionality and long-term performance of the tissue. Here, we use the biopolymer chondroitin sulphate (CS), one of the major components of cartilage extracellular matrix, to develop a novel bioadhesive that is readily applied and acts quickly. CS was chemically functionalized with methacrylate and aldehyde groups on the polysaccharide backbone to chemically bridge biomaterials and tissue proteins via a twofold covalent link. Three-dimensional hydrogels (with and without cells) bonded to articular cartilage defects. In in vitro and in vivo functional studies this approach led to mechanical stability of the hydrogel and tissue repair in cartilage defects.
Project description:The glycosaminoglycan, heparan sulphate (HS), orchestrates many developmental processes. Yet its biological role has not yet fully been elucidated. Small molecule chemical inhibitors can be used to perturb HS function and these compounds provide cheap alternatives to genetic manipulation methods. However, existing chemical inhibition methods for HS also interfere with chondroitin sulphate (CS), complicating data interpretation of HS function. Herein, a simple method for the selective inhibition of HS biosynthesis is described. Using endogenous metabolic sugar pathways, Ac4GalNAz produces UDP-GlcNAz, which can target HS synthesis. Cell treatment with Ac4GalNAz resulted in defective chain elongation of the polymer and decreased HS expression. Conversely, no adverse effect on CS production was observed. The inhibition was transient and dose-dependent, affording rescue of HS expression after removal of the unnatural azido sugar. The utility of inhibition is demonstrated in cell culture and in whole organisms, demonstrating that this small molecule can be used as a tool for HS inhibition in biological systems.
Project description:1. A system is described, which was used to incubate neonatal rat epiphysial cartilage in vitro with [U-(14)C]glucose and [(35)S]sulphate. 2. The acid glycosaminoglycans of neonatal rat epiphyses were extracted and fractionated on cetylpyridinium chloride-cellulose columns. The major components were chondroitin 4-sulphate (65%), chondroitin 6-sulphate (15%), hyaluronic acid (4%) and keratan sulphate (2%). 3. The acid-soluble nucleotides and intermediates of glycosaminoglycan synthesis were separated on a Dowex 1 (formate) system. The tissue contents and cellular concentrations of these metabolites were determined. 4. The rates of synthesis of UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetyl-hexosamine from [U-(14)C]glucose were found to be 0.79+/-0.16 and 3.2+/-0.08nmol/min per g wet wt. respectively. 5. The incorporation of [U-(14)C]glucose into the uronic acid and hexosamine moieties of the polymers was also measured and the turnover rates of the glycosaminoglycans were calculated. It was found that chondroitin sulphate was turning over in about 70h and hyaluronic acid in about 120h. 6. The relative rates of synthesis of the sulphated glycosaminoglycans were calculated from [(35)S]sulphate incorporation and were found to be in good agreement with those obtained from [U-(14)C]glucose labelling.
Project description:Nanostructured three-dimensional constructs combining layer-by-layer technology (LbL) and template leaching were processed and evaluated as possible support structures for cartilage tissue engineering. Multilayered constructs were formed by depositing the polyelectrolytes chitosan (CHT) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on either bidimensional glass surfaces or 3D packet of paraffin spheres. 2D CHT/CS multi-layered constructs proved to support the attachment and proliferation of bovine chondrocytes (BCH). The technology was transposed to 3D level and CHT/CS multi-layered hierarchical scaffolds were retrieved after paraffin leaching. The obtained nanostructured 3D constructs had a high porosity and water uptake capacity of about 300%. Dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) showed the viscoelastic nature of the scaffolds. Cellular tests were performed with the culture of BCH and multipotent bone marrow derived stromal cells (hMSCs) up to 21 days in chondrogenic differentiation media. Together with scanning electronic microscopy analysis, viability tests and DNA quantification, our results clearly showed that cells attached, proliferated and were metabolically active over the entire scaffold. Cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) formation was further assessed and results showed that GAG secretion occurred indicating the maintenance of the chondrogenic phenotype and the chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs.
Project description:The effect of cycloheximide on chondroitin sulphate biosynthesis was studied in bovine articular cartilage maintained in culture. Addition of 0.4 mM-cycloheximide to the culture medium was followed, over the next 4h, by a first-order decrease in the rate of incorporation of [35S]sulphate into glycosaminoglycan (half-life, t 1/2 = 32 min), which is consistent with the depletion of a pool of proteoglycan core protein. Addition of 1.0 mM-benzyl beta-D-xyloside increased the rate of incorporation of [35S]sulphate and [3H]acetate into glycosaminoglycan, but this elevated rate was also diminished by cycloheximide. It was concluded that cycloheximide exerted two effects on the tissue; not only did it inhibit the synthesis of the core protein, but it also lowered the tissue's capacity for chondroitin sulphate chain synthesis. Similar results were obtained with chick chondrocytes grown in high-density cultures. Although the exact mechanism of this secondary effect of cycloheximide is not known, it was shown that there was no detectable change in cellular ATP concentration or in the amount of three glycosyltransferases (galactosyltransferase-I, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and glucuronosyltransferase-II) involved in chondroitin sulphate chain synthesis. The sizes of the glycosaminoglycan chains formed in the presence of cycloheximide were larger than those formed in control cultures, whereas those synthesized in the presence of benzyl beta-D-xyloside were consistently smaller, irrespective of the presence of cycloheximide. These results suggest that beta-D-xylosides must be used with caution to study chondroitin sulphate biosynthesis as an event entirely independent of proteoglycan core-protein synthesis, and they also indicate a possible involvement of the core protein in the activation of the enzymes of chondroitin sulphate synthesis.
Project description:Addition of actinomycin D (or cordycepin, an alternative inhibitor of RNA synthesis) to cartilage cultures resulted in a first-order decrease in the rate of incorporation of [35S]sulphate into proteoglycan (half-life = 7.5 +/- 1.1 h). Addition of 1.0 mM-benzyl beta-D-xyloside relieved the initial inhibition of glycosaminoglycan synthesis induced by actinomycin D; however, after a lag of about 10 h the rate of xyloside-initiated glycosaminoglycan synthesis also decreased with apparent first-order kinetics (half-life = 7.1 +/- 1.8 h), which paralleled the decrease in the rate of core-protein-initiated glycosaminoglycan synthesis. The hydrodynamic size of the proteoglycans formed in the presence of actinomycin D remained essentially constant (Kav. 0.21-0.23), whereas the constituent glycosaminoglycan chains were larger than those formed by control cultures, which suggested that the core protein was substituted with fewer but larger glycosaminoglycan chains. Proteoglycans formed in the presence of beta-D-xyloside were significantly smaller (Kav. approximately 0.33) than those synthesized by control cultures, and were further diminished in size after exposure of cultures to actinomycin D. Glycosaminoglycan chains synthesized by these same cultures on to both core-protein and xyloside acceptors were also smaller than those of control cultures. The decrease in synthesis observed after exposure to actinomycin D was not reflected by any significant decrease in the activities of several glycosyltransferases involved in chondroitin sulphate synthesis (galactosyltransferase-I, galactosyltransferase-II, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and glucuronosyltransferase-II).
Project description:1. Embryonic-chicken sterna, incubated in medium containing 0.1mm-4-methylumbelliferyl beta-d-xyloside (4-methylcoumarin 7-beta-d-xyloside), synthesize proteochondroitin sulphate that is significantly undersulphated and shorter than usual [Gibson, Segen & Audhya (1977) Biochem. J.162, 217-233]. 2. Neither the beta-d-galactoside nor the beta-d-glucuronide of 4-methylumbelliferone, nor 4-methylumbelliferone itself, produced the effects. The only metabolites of 4-methylumbelliferone that were detected in cartilages exposed to 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-d-xyloside were unchanged xyloside and chondroitin sulphate covalently attached to 4-methylumbelliferone. 3. Gel filtration of salt extracts of sterna incubated in medium containing the xyloside showed that there were two pools of chondroitin sulphate in the tissue. One pool was identified, on the basis of its elution pattern and the linear kinetics of incorporation of sulphate into it, as proteochondroitin sulphate. Incorporation into the other pool, whose properties suggested that it was methylumbelliferyl-chondroitin sulphate, indicated that it underwent partial turnover. The molecular weight of this chondroitin sulphate was about 19000, and it appeared to be about 70% sulphated. 4. When sterna were incubated in medium containing the xyloside, there was a very large incorporation of sulphate and glucose into glycosaminoglycans that were released into the incubation medium. This contrasts with incubations of sterna in the absence of the xyloside, in which less than 5% of the sulphate incorporated could be recovered from the medium. The glycosaminoglycan released into the medium was 4-methylumbelliferyl-chondroitin sulphate, whose average molecular weight was 7000-8000 and degree of sulphation more than 95%. 5. Incorporation of sulphate into proteochondroitin sulphate was stimulated more than 3-fold by addition of 20% (v/v) human serum and 10nm-l-3,3',5-tri-iodothyronine. Incorporation into methylumbelliferyl-chondroitin sulphate, in either the tissue or the medium, was not significantly altered. 6. The decrease in chain length and degree of sulphation of proteochondroitin sulphate is explained in terms of competition between peptide-linked primers and methylumbelliferone-containing primers at the intracellular sites of polysaccharidechain elongation and sulphation. The implications of the results for the mechanism of stimulation of proteoglycan synthesis by serum factors are discussed.