Glycosaminoglycan synthesis in mouse mastocytoma

Biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans by cultured mastocytoma cells

Biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycans by several lines of cultured neoplastic mouse mast cells was studied by incorporation of [(35)S]sulphate (and in some cases [6-(3)H]glucosamine) into macromolecular materials found in both the cells and their growth media. Such intracellular and extracellular radioactively labelled materials (shown to be glycosaminoglycans by susceptibility to digestion with heparinase) were further characterized by ion-exchange chromatography and by digestion with testicular hyaluronidase and chondroitinase. All but one cell line produced chondroitin sulphate as the major sulphated glycosaminoglycan; the remainder of the glycosaminoglycan was heparin-like material. No [(3)H]hyaluronic acid was synthesized. Cells of a newly derived line, termed P815S, synthesized more glycosaminoglycan than the other lines. This glycosaminoglycan, found in both cells and growth medium, was almost entirely chondroitin 4-sulphate. No chondroitin 6-sulphate was found. The chondroitin 4-sulphate from the cells was shown by gel filtration to be smaller than the chondroitin 4-sulphate in the media of these cultures. This discovery of relatively high proportions of chondroitin 4-sulphate in these mastocytoma-derived cells is noteworthy, since mast cells have generally been considered to produce heparin as their major glycosaminoglycan.

Effect of cycloheximide, beta-D-xylosides and beta-D-galactosides on heparin biosynthesis in mouse mastocytoma

Heparin biosynthesis has been investigated with mouse mastocytoma in vitro. Minced tumour tissue catalysed the incorporation of [35S]sulphate and [3H]glucosamine into heparin and to a smaller extent into chondroitin sulphate. Addition of cycloheximide caused an inhibition (greater than 80%) of incorporation of each labelled precursor into both polysaccharides. Addition of benzyl beta-D-xyloside relieved the inhibition of incorporation into chondroitin sulphate and restored it to more than threefold that of the control incubation. The effect of beta-D-xyloside on incorporation into heparin was less marked although a consistent small increase of incorporation into this polysaccharide was observed. beta-D-Xyloside did, however, cause a marked incorporation of 35S and 3H labels into material of low molecular weight, which appeared to comprise heparin-like fragments. It is proposed that these fragments arise through a breakdown of the usual process of heparin biosynthesis.

Glycosaminoglycans of some mouse mastocytomas

The glycosaminoglycan fractions of four murine mastocytomas (AB-CBF1-MCT-1, AB-CXBG-MCT-1, AB-CXBI-MCT-1, and Furth), were isolated and characterized using microelectrophoresis, degradation with specific mucopolysaccharidases, paper chromatography and, in some instances, ion-exchange chromatography. Intramuscular and ascites tumors and tumors cultured in vitro were used. The glycosaminoglycans were labeled with [35S]sulfate and , in a few instances, with D-[6-3H]glucosamine. The glycosaminoglycan fraction obtained from the AB-CBF1-MCT-1 mastocytoma cultured in vitro consisted predominantly of dermatan sulfate-like material. On the other hand, the major components of the glycosaminoglycan fractions of the AB-CXBG-MCT-1 and AB-CXBI-MCT-1 and Furth tumors were observed to behave like heparin or heparan sulfate. In most of the mastocytoma samples examined, chondroitin 4-sulfate-like components were found to be present in smaller amounts, even in samples derived from tumor cells cultured in vitro. A component exhibiting a keratan sulfate-like behavior was detected in fractions obtained from the solid CXBG, CXBI and Furth tumors.

Metabolism of macromolecular heparin in mouse neoplastic mast cells

1. Polysaccharide in a heparin-producing mouse mastocytoma was pulse-labelled in vivo with [35S] sulphate, and after various periods of time was isolated from subcellular fractions. Such fractions were recovered from tissue homogenates by consecutive centrifugations at 1000g for 10min, 20000g for 20min and 100000g for 1h. Initially the 35S-labelled polysaccharide formed occurred principally in the second centrifugal fraction (20000g precipitate), with small amounts in the first (granular) and third (microsomal) fractions. Analysis for glycosyltransferase activity confirmed that glycosaminoglycans were formed chiefly in particles sedimenting at 20000g. Molecules of this newly synthesized polysaccharide were considerably larger than those of commercially available heparin, as judged from gel chromatography. 2. Within the first hour after injection of [35S]sulphate, most of the labelled polysaccharide was redistributed from the second to the first centrifugal fraction. During, and possibly also after, this shift, the macromolecular polysaccharide was degraded, ultimately to the size of commercial heparin. The degradation process appeared complete 6h after injection of [35S]sulphate. 3. Particulate subcellular fractions were incubated with macromolecular [35S]heparin and the products were analysed by gel chromatography. Significant degradation of the substrate occurred only with the second centrifugal fraction. Further characterization of this fraction, by density-gradient centrifugation in iso-osmotic colloidal silica, revealed a single visible band of particles, at approximately the same density at lysosomes. This band contained all the beta-glucuronidase, 35S-labelled endogenous polysacchride and heparin-degrading enzyme present in the second fraction.

Distribution of sulphate and iduronic acid residues in heparin and heparan sulphate

1. A method was developed for determination of the uronic acid composition of heparin-like glycosaminoglycans. Polymers or oligosaccharides are degraded to monosaccharides by a combination of acid hydrolysis and deamination with HNO(2). The resulting uronic acid monosaccharides (accounting for about 70% of the uronic acid contents of the starting materials) are isolated and converted into the corresponding aldono-1,4-lactones, which are separated by g.l.c. The calculated ratios of glucuronic acid/iduronic acid are reproducible within 5%. 2. Samples of heparin from pig intestinal mucosa (molar ratio of sulphate/disaccharide unit, 2.40) and heparan sulphate from human aorta (sulphate/disaccharide ratio, 0.46) were subjected to uronic acid analysis. l-Iduronic acid constituted 77% and 19% respectively of the total uronic acid contents. 3. The correlation between the contents of sulphate and iduronic acid indicated by this finding also applied to the fractionated deamination products of the two polymers. The sulphated fragments varied in size from disaccharide to octasaccharide (or larger) and showed sulphate/disaccharide molar ratios in the range of 0.05-2.0. The proportion of iduronic acid increased with increasing ester sulphate contents of the oligosaccharides. 4. Previous studies on the biosynthesis of heparin in a cell-free system have shown that l-iduronic acid residues are formed by C-5 epimerization of d-glucuronic acid units at the polymer level; the process requires concomitant sulphation of the polymer. The results obtained in the present structural study conform to these findings, and suggest further that similar mechanisms may operate in the biosynthesis of heparan sulphate. The epimerization reaction appears to be linked to the sulphation of hydroxyl groups but does not seem to require sulphation of the target uronic acid residues. The significance of sulphamino groups in relation to the formation of iduronic acid is unknown.

A novel assay for the biosynthesis of sulphated polysaccharide and its application to studies on the effects of somatomedin on cultured cells

1. A simple method is described for the determination of small amounts of [(35)S]sulphated polysaccharide with 95-100% recovery in the range from 0.3 to 150mug of polysaccharide. 2. The method is based on precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride of polysaccharide samples applied to filter paper. It is not significantly disturbed by the presence in the sample of a large excess of inorganic (35)SO(4) (2-). 3. Sulphated glucosamino- and galactosaminoglycans may be determined separately by treatment of the sample with chondroitinase ABC. 4. The method is applicable to the assay of [(35)S]sulphated polysaccharide biosynthesis in cell cultures. A stimulation of sulphate incorporation obeying a linear dose-response curve, was demonstrated in somatomedin-incubated fibroblast and glia cell cultures. 5. The described system provides a new assay method for somatomedin. 6. The stimulatory effect of somatomedin on the synthesis of [(35)S]sulphated polysaccharide appeared to be general, rather than specific, for a particular type of polysaccharide.