Glycosaminoglycans in the nonswelling corneal stroma of dogfish shark.

Qualitative and quantitative determinations of glycosaminoglycans in the nonswelling corneal stroma of the spiny dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias, were made with the use of a cetylpyridinium chloride-cellulose microfractionation technique. Dogfish stroma was found to contain predominantly highly sulfated galactosaminoglycans forming approximately 75 per cent of the total glycosaminoglycans when calculated on the basis of hexosamine content. The remaining portion of corneal glycosaminoglycans was identified as glucosaminoglycans with a molar ratio of sulfate to hexosamine higher than one. Quantitative differences were observed between the anterior and posterior parts of the dogfish corneal stroma both as to the concentration of hexosamine and the ratio of galactosamine to glucosamine.