background: analysis of human cancer serum has revealed the presence of high amounts of hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid, ha) when compared to human normal serum, it is well documented that ha and its receptors, known as hyaladherins (habps) are involved in matrix regulation, cell proliferation, migration and malignant tumour progression. these hyaladherins not only interact with hyaluronan at the m...

background: the development and progression of human tumors is accompanied by various cellular biochemical and genetic alterations. these events include tumor cells interaction with extracellular matrix molecules including hyaluronan and hyaluronan binding protein (ha-habp). hyaluronan is a large polysaccharide associated with pericellular matrix of proliferating, migrating cells, regulation of...

Several malignant tumors accumulate hyaluronan, a matrix component suggested to promote cancer cell migration and growth. To explore the potential clinical importance of this concept, we assessed the hyaluronan levels in epithelial ovarian cancer. A biotinylated affinity probe specific for hyaluronan was prepared and applied to histological sections of 309 epithelial ovarian cancers and 45 matc...

Nuchal skin oedema at 10-14 weeks gestation, observed by ultrasonography as increased nuchal translucency (NT), is found in approximately 70% of fetuses with trisomies 21, 18 and 13 as well as those with Turner's syndrome. This study investigates the possibility that one mechanism for increased translucency is an altered composition of the skin with a higher concentration of hyaluronan; large a...

Hyaluronan (HA) and CD44 are involved in several processes such as cell migration and differentiation. In the present study, we examined the expression and distribution of both hyaluronan and its cell surface receptor (CD44) in the human placenta, which is a rapidly growing and differentiating organ that plays a fundamental role in fetal life. Hyaluronan was detected by a specific biotinylated ...

BACKGROUND The development and progression of human tumors is accompanied by various cellular, biochemical and genetic alterations. These events include tumor cells interaction with extracellular matrix molecules including hyaluronan (HA). Hyaluronan is a large polysaccharide associated with pericellular matrix of proliferating, migrating cells. Its implication in malignant transformation, tumo...

BACKGROUND: The polysaccharide hyaluronan is a major component of the extracellular matrix and has been observed to impact retrovirus infectivity in biological settings. Hyaluronan has also been applied in biotechnology as a non-immunogenic, biocompatible agent to improve control of drug delivery and lentiviral transduction. We carried out a preliminary investigation to ascertain if the presenc...

This protein is regulated by the mutant H-ras gene in cells containing a metallothionein promoter H-ras hybrid gene. Further, antibodies to peptide sequences encoded in the eDNA block the increase in locomotion resulting from induction of the mutant H-ras gene in this cell line. In a transblot assay, the bacterially expressed protein binds to biotinylated hyaluronan. Antibodies to peptides enco...