The proteoglycan decorin is known to affect both the fibrillogenesis and the resulting ultrastructure of in vitro polymerized collagen gels. However, little is known about its effects on mechanical properties. In this study, 3D collagen gels were polymerized into tensile test specimens in the presence of decorin proteoglycan, decorin core protein, or dermatan sulfate (DS). Collagen fibrillogene...

Proteoglycan in foetal- and adult-rat tail tendon and adult-rabbit achilles tendon was stained for electron microscopy with a cationic phthalocyanin-like dye, based on cinchomeronic acid, in a 'critical electrolyte concentration' method [Scott (1973) Biochem. Soc. Trans. 1, 787-806). Provided that the tissue was fixed with glutaraldehyde or formaldehyde, regular orthogonal perifibrillar arrays ...

Bovine nasal cartilage was repeatedly extracted with the dissociative solvent, 4 M guanidinium chloride. About 25% of the total tissue proteoglycans could not be solubilized as judged by galactosamine analysis. The inextractable proteoglycan could be at least partially solubilized by treating the guanidine-extracted tissue with reagents which completely or partially degraded the proteoglycan pr...

We have identified a unique heparan sulfate (HeS) proteoglycan synthesized by the neuronal-like cell line PC12. The proteoglycan, purified with monoclonal antibodies from medium conditioned by PC12 cells, has an apparent molecular weight of 350,000, and it contains a Mr 80,000 core protein and HeS side chains of Mr 15,000 each. The purified molecule has the same apparent size and density as it ...

A model system of explanted cartilage has been used in vitro to determine whether insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF 1), which promotes matrix formation is effective in the presence of cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL1) and tumour necrosis factor (TNF), which induce net matrix depletion. IGF 1 induced a dose-dependent 2.5-fold stimulation of proteoglycan synthesis, with a half-maximal dose of...

Human glioblastomas (five of five), the most malignant astroglial-derived tumors, specifically express a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan that is recognized by monoclonal antibody 9.2.27 and localized to the glioma cell surface, proliferating endothelial cells, and the perivascular extracellular matrix within the tumor bed. In contrast, the expression of this proteoglycan in normal adult neocor...

Aims-To investigate the level of matrix metalloproteinase activity during the time-course of cartilage explant proteoglycan breakdown; to determine the effects of selective small-molecule inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases on proteoglycan degradation.Methods-The levels of matrix metalloproteinase activity in cartilage explant cultures and conditioned media were monitored by use of a quench...

Three antibodies reacting with corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycan were used to detect antigenically related molecules in 11 bovine and 13 embryonic chick tissues. Two monoclonal antibodies recognized sulfated epitopes on the keratan sulfate chain and a polyclonal antibody bound antigenic sites on the core protein of corneal keratan sulfate proteoglycan. Competitive immunoassay detected core p...

Human promonocytes U937 synthesize lysozyme and retain approximately one third of it within lysosomes. Lysozyme is not glycosylated; thus, it cannot be subject to mannose-6-phosphate-dependent targeting to lysosomes. It is a basic protein with a pI of 10.5 and is known to interact with negatively charged macromolecules like proteoglycans. Therefore, we examined whether the latter are involved i...

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in combination with an independent inhibition step, was established to quantitate two components of the proteoglycan aggregate, namely link protein and hyaluronate-binding region, at concentrations below 100 ng/ml. The presence of other components of the aggregate in the samples to be tested influenced quantitation in a specific manner. The apparent antigen...