Isolation and chemical characterization of mucopolysaccharides from rat tumors.

Mucopolysaccharides were extracted by Pronase diges tion from two types of rat tumor tissues: MC sarcoma in duced in Donryu rats by s.c. injection of methylcholanthrene and a solid tumor developed by s.c. transplantation of AH-109A cells into the animals. The mucopolysaccharides were fractionated by anion-exchange chromatography and characterized by chemical analysis, electrophoresis, infrared spectroscopy, and enzymic digestion. The mucopolysaccharides in the MC sarcoma were shown to be mainly hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate A with small amounts of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate. In the solid AH-109A tumor, heparan sulfate was the major mucopolysaccharide, with hyaluronic acid, dermatan sulfate, and a trace of chondroitin sulfate A. Isolation of heparan sulfate from solid tumors has not yet been reported.