Versican in inflammation and tissue remodelling: the impact on lung disorders.

Versican is a proteoglycan that has many different roles in tissue homeostasis and inflammation. The biochemical structure is comprised of four different types of the core protein with attached glycosaminoglycans that can be sulphated to various extents and has the capacity to regulate differentiation of different cell types, migration, cell adhesion, proliferation, tissue stabilization and inflammation. Versican's regulatory properties are of importance during both homeostasis and changes that lead to disease progression. The glycosaminoglycans that are attached to the core protein are of the chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate type and are known to be important in inflammation through interactions with cytokines and growth factors. For a more complex understanding of versican it is of importance to study the tissue niche, where the wound healing process in both healthy and diseased conditions take place. In previous studies our group has identified changes in the amount of the multifaceted versican in chronic lung disorders such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, which could be a result of pathologic, transforming growth factor β driven, on-going remodelling processes. Reversely, the context of versican in its niche is of great importance since versican has been reported to have a beneficial role in other contexts e.g. emphysema. Here we explore the vast mechanisms of versican in healthy lung and in lung disorders

Formation of Iduronic Acid during Chondroitin/Dermatan Sulfate Biosynthesis

All animals and some bacteria can synthesize linear polysaccharides with a backbone of repeating disaccharideunits, called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). The GAGs are either attached to a protein core, as in proteoglycans (PGs), or exist as free polymer chains, as in hyaluronan. One of the most common types of GAGs is chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS), where the repeating disaccharide backbone consists of the two epimeric carbohydrates glucuronic and iduronic acid (GlcA/IdoA), linked to N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc). The GAG polymer is linked to a core protein and can be sulfated at up to three positions in each disaccharide unit. The GAGs can bind cytokines and growth factors and are directly involved in receptor interactions. For example, the presence and structure of CS/DS is important for migration and invasion of cancer cells, development of atherosclerosis, neuronal outgrowth, and malaria infection.The aim of this work was to understand the role and mode of action of three important enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of CS/DS; namely dermatan sulfate epimerase 1 and 2 (DS-epi1 and 2) and dermatan 4-O- sulfotransferase 1 (D4ST1). The major findings are summarized below.Mice deficient in DS-epi1 and 2 were carefully characterized in terms of their phenotypes and biochemical GAG composition. The resulting mice were completely devoid of iduronic acid, and the resulting CS chains were structurally different from the wild type chains. Consequently, a vast majority of the DKO mice died perinatally, with widely variable phenotypes at birth or late embryonic stages. Together, our results indicate an important role of dermatan sulfate in embryonic development and perinatal survival.Further, we introduced a new technique to study the activity and mode of action of DS-epi1, where we combined a mass spectrometric analysis of heavy-atom labeled oligosaccharides with in silico simulations. Using an assay buffer prepared with heavy water (D2O) we analyzed the site-specific incorporation of deuterium into oligosaccharides of different lengths by collision-induced dissociation mass spectrometry (MS). The results from the MS experiments were then correlated to enzyme-substrate models prepared in silico, and we presented a model for the in vitro mode of action of DS-epi1.We also reported findings regarding the possible interaction between DS-epi1 and D4ST1. We could show that DS-epi1 yields only a few iduronic acid residues at a slow speed, whereas the co-incubation with D4ST1 increased the speed of epimerization five-fold. The enzymes were cross-linked and then subjected to gel electrophoresis, where larger complexes were observed. MS showed that the complexes contained both DS-epi1 and D4ST1, suggesting that DS-epi1 and D4ST1 interact during the formation of CS/DS.Finally, we described a novel method for recombinant production of DS. Recombinantly expressed DS-epi1 and D4ST1 were used, together with a uronosyl 2-O-sulfotransferase and a bacterial polysaccharide, to produce a DS polymer composed of IdoA-2S-GalNAc-4S. These CS/DS polymers were capable of inactivation of thrombin with heparin cofactor II in the same order of magnitude as with heparin

Quantification Of Glycosaminoglycans In Knee Synovial Fluid From Different Patient Groups And Knee-Healthy Subjects Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Purpose: The glycosaminoglycans chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) are important for the normal function of articular cartilage, and changes of their sulfation and concentration may play a role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, these glycans may be clinically useful as biomarkers in OA management. The purpose of this study was to analyze the CS and HA pattern in knee synovial fluid from different subject groups.Methods: OA patients (n=20, age=34-75 years, 45% women), recently knee-injured patients (0-77 days from injury, n=46, age 15-64 years, 15% women), previously knee-injured patients (88 days-21 years from injury, n=30, age 25-65 years, 17% women) and knee-healthy subjects (n=22, age 17-48 years, 23% women) were selected from a cross-sectional convenience cohort. CS and HA in individual synovial fluid samples, a synovial fluid quality control sample (SF-QC; a pool of synovial fluids) and a CS quality control sample (CS-QC) were digested with chondroitinase ABC and glucose oxidase overnight. Samples and glycan standards (CS [n=6] and HA [n=1] standards) were labelled with 2-aminoacridone (AMAC) and analyzed using a quantitative high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay. In total, 118 synovial fluid samples were run, whereof 34 in duplicates. SF-QC, CS-QC and standards were run in duplicates.Since the CS and HA data were not normally distributed, non-parametric analyses for group comparisons were done (Student’s T-test for age analysis, Chi-square test for sex analysis and Mann-Whitney U test for CS and HA analysis). The significance level was set at pResults: HPLC assay validation: The intra experiment coefficient of variation (CV) for the synovial fluid samples (n=36; including SF-QC) was 0.03-36.9% (median 5.4%) for CS and 0.4-44.9% (median 7.6%) for HA; intra CV for the CS-QC sample was 0.01-3.7%, and for the standards it was 0.2-6.7% for CS and 1.9-7.1% for HA. The inter experiment CV for SF-QC (n=5 experiments) was 9.8-17.5% for CS and 15.1% for HA; the inter CV for CS-QC (n=4 experiments) was 3.4-6.1%, and for the standards (n=5 experiments) it was 0.01-0.07% for CS and 0.1% for HA. Glucose oxidase was added to remove glucose that otherwise co-elutes with non-sulfated CS; it did not affect the CS and HA standards (data not shown). Group comparisons: Comparisons were made between the knee-healthy control group and the OA, recent injury and previous injury groups respectively, as well as between the recent injury and previous injury groups. There was no difference in sex between either of the groups (p=0.074-0.866). There was no difference in age between the knee-healthy group and the recent injury group (p=0.330), but the knee-healthy group was younger than the previous injury group and the OA group (pConclusions: Our data suggests that the groups with knee pathologies have higher concentrations of some CS variants and HA than the knee-healthy group. We also see a trend of higher levels of CS variants in the recent knee injury group compared to the previous knee injury group. This indicates that there is both an acute and chronic increase in the concentrations of CS variants and HA in synovial fluid following knee injury and/or cartilage damage

Assays for Evaluation of Substrates for and Inhibitors of β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase 7

β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase 7 (β4GalT7) is a key enzyme in the synthesis of two classes of glycosaminoglycans (GAG), i.e., heparan sulfate (HS) and chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS). GAG chains are linear polysaccharides of alternating hexuronic acid and N-acetylhexosamine residues, commonly linked to core proteins to form proteoglycans with important roles in the regulation of a range of biological processes. The biosynthesis of GAGs is initiated by xylosylation of a serine residue of the core protein followed by galactosylation, catalyzed by β4GalT7. The biosynthesis can also be initiated by xylosides carrying hydrophobic aglycons, such as 2-naphthyl β-D-xylopyranoside. We have cloned and expressed β4GalT7, and designed a cell-free assay to measure the activity of this enzyme. The assay employs a 96-well plate format for high throughput. In this chapter, we describe the cloning, expression, and purification of β4GalT7, as well as assays proposed for development of substrates for GAG priming and for investigating inhibitors of β4GalT7

Hydroxylated oxanes as xyloside analogs for determination of the minimal binding requirements of β4GalT7

β-1,4-Galactosyltransferase 7 (β4GalT7) is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. Natural and synthetic xylosides can be used to both inhibit and prime GAG synthesis by acting as inhibitors or substrates for β4GalT7. In this report, we exploit hydroxylated oxanes as deoxygenated xyloside analogs to clarify the minimum protein-ligand interactions required for galactosylation and/or inhibition. Enantiomerically pure substances were synthesized using a chiral pool approach whereas the corresponding racemates were obtained from simple starting materials. The results of a β4GalT7 assay show that a single hydroxyl group on an oxane ring is insufficient to induce galactosylation or inhibition, which implies that at least two substituents, one of which being 3-OH, needs to be present

Glycosaminoglycans: a link between development and regeneration in the lung : a link between development and regeneration in the lung

What can we learn from embryogenesis to increase our understanding of how regeneration of damaged adult lung tissue could be induced in serious lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and asthma? The local tissue niche determines events in both embryogenesis and repair of the adult lung. Important constituents of the niche are extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules including proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAG). GAGs, strategically located in the pericellular and extracellular space, bind developmentally active growth factors and morphogenes such as fibroblast growth factors (FGF), transforming growth factor- (TGF-) and bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) aside from cytokines. These interactions affect activities in many cells, including stem cells, important in development and tissue regeneration. Moreover, it is becoming clear that the "inherent code", such as sulfation of disaccharides of GAGs is a strong determinant of cellular outcome. Sulfation pattern, deacetylations and epimerizations of GAG chains function as tuning forks in gradient formation of morphogens, growth factors and cytokines. Learning to tune these fine instruments, i.e. interactions between growth factors (GF), chemokines and cytokines with the specific disaccharide code of GAGs in the adult lung, could become the key to unlock inherent regenerative forces to override pathological remodeling. This review aims to give an overview of the role GAGs play during development and similar events in regenerative efforts in the adult lung

Dermatan sulfate epimerase 1 and dermatan 4-O-sulfotransferase 1 form complexes that generate long epimerized 4-O-sulfated blocks

During the biosynthesis of chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS), a variable fraction of glucuronic acid is converted to iduronic acid through the activities of two epimerases, dermatan sulfate epimerases 1 (DS-epi1) and 2 (DS-epi2). Previous in vitro studies indicated that without association with other enzymes, DS-epi1 activity produces structures that have only a few adjacent iduronic acid units. In vivo, concomitant with epimerization, dermatan 4-O-sulfotransferase 1 (D4ST1) sulfates the GalNAc adjacent to iduronic acid. This sulfation facilitates DS-epi1 activity and enables the formation of long blocks of sulfated iduronic acid-containing domains, which can be major components of CS/DS. In this report, we used recombinant enzymes to confirm the concerted action of DS-epi1 and D4ST1. Confocal microscopy revealed that these two enzymes colocalize to the Golgi, and FRET experiments indicated that they physically interact. Furthermore, FRET, immunoprecipitation, and cross-linking experiments also revealed that DS-epi1, DS-epi2, and D4ST1 form homomers and are all part of a hetero-oligomeric complex where D4ST1 directly interacts with DS-epi1, but not with DS-epi2. The cooperation of DS-epi1 with D4ST1 may therefore explain the processive mode of the formation of iduronic acid blocks. In conclusion, the iduronic acid-forming enzymes operate in complexes, similar to other enzymes active in glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis. This knowledge shed light on regulatory mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis of the structurally diverse CS/DS molecule.Peer reviewe

Xyloside-primed chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate from breast carcinoma cells with a defined disaccharide composition has cytotoxic effects in vitro

We have previously reported that the xyloside 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl) β-D-xylopyranoside (XylNapOH), in contrast to 2-naphthyl β-D-xylopyranoside (XylNap), specifically reduces tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo. Although there are indications that this could be mediated by the xyloside-primed glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and that these differ in composition depending on xyloside and cell type, detailed knowledge regarding a structure-function relationship is lacking. In this study, we isolated XylNapOH- and XylNap-primed GAGs from a breast carcinoma cell line, HCC70, and a breast fibroblast cell line, CCD-1095Sk, and demonstrated that both XylNapOH- and XylNap-primed chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) GAGs derived from HCC70 cells had a cytotoxic effect on HCC70 cells and CCD-1095Sk cells. The cytotoxic effect appeared to be mediated by induction of apoptosis and was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner by the XylNap-primed heparan sulfate (HS) GAGs. In contrast, neither the CS/DS nor the HS derived from CCD-1095Sk cells primed on XylNapOH or XylNap had any effect on the growth of HCC70 cells or CCD-105Sk cells. These observations were related to the disaccharide composition of the XylNapOH- and XylNap-primed GAGs, which differed considerably between the two cell lines, but was similar when the GAGs were derived from the same cell line. To our knowledge, this is the first report on cytotoxic effects mediated by CS/DS

Disubstituted naphthyl β-D-xylopyranosides : Synthesis, GAG priming, and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) inhibition

Xylosides are a group of compounds that can induce glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain synthesis independently of a proteoglycan core protein. We have previously shown that the xyloside 2-(6-hydroxynaphthyl)β-D-xylopyranoside has a tumor-selective growth inhibitory effect both in vitro and in vivo, and that the effect in vitro was correlated to a reduction in histone H3 acetylation. In addition, GAG chains have previously been reported to inhibit histone acetyltransferases (HAT). To investigate if xylosides, or the corresponding xyloside-primed GAG chains, can be used as HAT inhibitors, we have synthesized a series of naphthoxylosides carrying structural motifs similar to the aromatic moieties of the known HAT inhibitors garcinol and curcumin, and studied their biological activities. Here, we show that the disubstituted naphthoxylosides induced GAG chain synthesis, and that the ones with at least one free phenolic group exhibited moderate HAT inhibition in vitro, without affecting histone H3 acetylation in cell culture. The xyloside-primed GAG chains, on the other hand, had no effect on HAT activity, possibly explaining why the effect of the xylosides on histone H3 acetylation was absent in cell culture as the xylosides were recruited for GAG chain synthesis. Further investigations are required to find xylosides that are effective HAT inhibitors or xylosides producing GAG chains with HAT inhibitory effects