Interstitial lung diseases associated with hypoxia, such as lung fibrosis, are characterized by enhanced production of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and increased deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, including glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). In this study, we investigated the effect of hypoxia (3% O(2)) on TGF-beta-induced GAG synthesis by primary human pulmonary fibrobla...

BACKGROUND There is evidence that glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are present in the hair shaft within the follicle but there are no studies regarding GAGs isolation and measurement in the human hair shaft over the scalp surface, it means, in the free hair shaft. OBJECTIVE The purpose of our research was to isolate and measure the total GAGs from human free hair shaft. METHODS Seventy-five health...

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have numerous applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and foods. GAGs are also critically important in the developmental biology of all multicellular animals. GAGs were isolated from chicken egg components including yolk, thick egg white, thin egg white, membrane, calcified shell matrix supernatant, and shell matrix deposit. Disacchari...

Immunoreactive proteoglycans (iPGs) and sulphated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were assayed in synovial fluid obtained from 22 patients with osteoarthritis (OA), 21 with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 13 with gout, and five with Reiter's syndrome. A strong positive linear correlation was observed between concentrations of sulphated GAGs and iPGs in RA (r = 0.95) and gout (r = 0.94). A linear correlati...

Several microbial pathogens have been reported to interact with glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on cell surfaces and in the extracellular matrix. Here we demonstrate that M protein, a major surface-expressed virulence factor of the human bacterial pathogen, Streptococcus pyogenes, mediates binding to various forms of GAGs. Hence, S. pyogenes strains expressing a large number of different types of M p...

The ability of Candida albicans to adhere to subendothelial extracellular matrix (ECM) may be important in the pathogenesis of disseminated candidiasis. ECM proteins, such as fibronectin, laminin, and types I and IV collagen bind C. albicans avidly. These proteins all possess heparin-binding domains. The influence of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGS) including heparin, heparan sulfate and dextran s...

ADAMTS-4, also referred to as aggrecanase-1, is a glutamyl endopeptidase capable of generating catabolic fragments of aggrecan analogous to those released from articular cartilage during degenerative joint diseases such as osteoarthritis. Efficient aggrecanase activity requires the presence of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) attached to the aggrecan core protein, implying the contribution of...

There is increasing evidence that the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) component of the vascular endothelium is important in regulating vascular permeability, thromboresistance and cellular interactions. We have investigated the GAG metabolism of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in response to a range of inflammatory stimuli. Using both chemical measurement of cellular and superna...

High compressive properties of cartilaginous tissues are commonly attributed to the sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) fraction of the extracellular matrix (ECM), but this relationship has not been directly measured in the knee meniscus, which shows regional variation in GAG content. In this study, biopsies from each meniscus region (outer, middle, and inner) were either subjected to chondroitina...