We hypothesize that a plasma glycosaminoglycan, chondroitin sulfate, may be responsible for the biological and clinical effects attributed to the Gc protein-derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF), a protein that is extracted from human blood. Thus, Gc protein binds chondroitin sulfate on the cell surface and such an interaction may occur also in blood, colostrum and milk. This interpretat...

The intestinal absorption of chondroitin sulfate (CS) and its hydrolysate, particularly the disaccharides (Di-CS), was investigated by using human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cell monolayers. Although the transepithelial transport of CS was not detectable, dose- and time-dependent transport of Di-CS was observed. The transport of Di-CS was proved to be energy-independent and its permeability i...

An endo-beta-glucuronidase acting on chondroitin sulfate was isolated from rabbit liver and purified about 550-fold, using a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300, affinity chromatography through heparin-Sepharose CL-6B and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The pH optimum of this enzyme was 4.0 and the Km va...

The Fourier transform 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of bovine nasal cartilage proteoglycan subunit and complex and whole bovine nasal cartilage were obtained and compared with that of chondroitin 4-sulfate. The spectrum of chondroitin 4-sulfate in solution revealed multiple resolvable resonances with linewidths that are consistent with considerable segmental motion in the polysaccharid...

Glycosaminoglycans are carbohydrate-based compounds widely employed as nutraceuticals or prescribed drugs. Oral formulations of chondroitin sulfate combined with glucosamine sulfate have been increasingly used to treat the symptoms of osteoarthritis and osteoarthrosis. The chondroitin sulfate of these combinations can be obtained from shark or bovine cartilages and hence presents differences re...

Chondroitin lyases (EC 4.2.2.4 and EC 4.2.2.5) are glycosaminoglycan-degrading enzymes that act as eliminases. Chondroitin lyase AC from Arthrobacter aurescens (ArthroAC) is known to act on chondroitin 4-sulfate and chondroitin 6-sulfate but not on dermatan sulfate. Like other chondroitin AC lyases, it is capable of cleaving hyaluronan. We have determined the three-dimensional crystal structure...

Glycosaminoglycans, mainly chondroitin 4-sulfate, are located in the primary granules of human myeloid cells. These polyanionic carbohydrates are believed to play an important role in leukocyte maturation and function. To study the effect of altered chondroitin sulfate metabolism on human promyelocytic leukemia cells, we have treated HL-60 cells with 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-xyloside. beta-D...

The glycosaminoglycans that exist in rabbit bone marrow were analyzed chemically, and their in situ localization was studied immunohistochemically. Femoral bone marrow of 3-month-old rabbits was defatted with organic solvents. Glycosaminoglycans were prepared from the defatted tissue after its digestion with pronase, treatment with mild alkali, and then digestion with DNase-I. The tissue contai...

Suspensions of chondrocytes were prepared by treatment with trypsin of the epiphyses of tibias and femurs of 13-day-old chick embryos. After washing to remove the matrix, such suspensions readily incorporate radioactive sulfate into both intracellular and extracellular chondroitin sulfate. Following disruption of the cells, the cell constituents were fractionated by centrifugation. Fractions ob...

Hydrogels based on photocrosslinkable Hyaluronic Acid Methacrylate (HAMA) and Chondroitin Sulfate (CSMA) are presently under investigation for tissue engineering applications. HAMA CSMA gels offer tunable characteristics such as tailorable mechanical properties, swelling characteristics, enzymatic degradability. This review gives an overview of the scientific literature published regarding pre-...