Publication Date:
2012-12-28
Description:
Chondroitin sulfate (CS) chains regulate the development of the central nervous system in vertebrates and are linear polysaccharides consisting of variously sulfated repeating disaccharides, [–4GlcUAβ1-3GalNAcβ1–] n , where GlcUA and GalNAc represent d -glucuronic acid and N -acetyl- d -galactosamine, respectively. CS chains containing D-disaccharide units [GlcUA(2- O -sulfate)-GalNAc(6- O -sulfate)] are involved in the development of cerebellar Purkinje cells and neurite outgrowth-promoting activity through interaction with a neurotrophic factor, pleiotrophin, resulting in the regulation of signaling. In this study, to obtain further structural information on the CS chains containing d -disaccharide units involved in brain development, oligosaccharides containing D-units were isolated from a shark fin cartilage. Seven novel hexasaccharide sequences, O-D-D, A-D-D, C-D-D, E-A-D, D-D-C, E-D-D and A-B-D, in addition to three previously reported sequences, C-A-D, C-D-C and A-D-A, were isolated from a CS preparation of shark fin cartilage after exhaustive digestion with chondroitinase AC-I, which cannot act on the galactosaminidic linkages bound to D-units. The symbol stands for a 4,5-unsaturated bond of uronic acids, whereas A, B, C, D, E and O represent [GlcUA-GalNAc(4- O -sulfate)], [GlcUA(2- O -sulfate)-GalNAc(4- O -sulfate)], [GlcUA-GalNAc(6- O -sulfate)], [GlcUA(2- O -sulfate)-GalNAc(6- O -sulfate)], [GlcUA-GalNAc(4- O -, 6- O -sulfate)] and [GlcUA-GalNAc], respectively. In binding studies using an anti-CS monoclonal antibody, MO-225, the epitopes of which are involved in cerebellar development in mammals, novel epitope structures, A-D-A, A-D-D and A-B-D, were revealed. Hexasaccharides containing two consecutive D-units or a B-unit will be useful for the structural and functional analyses of CS chains particularly in the neuroglycobiological fields.
Print ISSN:
0959-6658
Electronic ISSN:
1460-2423
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
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