Stefan Lohmander

Electron microscopic demonstration of proteoglycans in guinea pig epiphyseal cartilage

Guinea pig epiphyseal cartilage was studied ultrastructurally after staining with ruthenium red or Alcian Blue. Extracellularly, the matrix granules were positively stained with both dyes, whereas no apparent staining of the collagen fibrils occurred. Intracellularly, a positive ruthenium red staining of the Golgi vacuole granules was observed. No Alcian Blue staining of the content of the vacuoles was detected. The fresh, untreated cartilage contained about 1.3% hexosamine on a dry weight basis. About three-fourths thereof represented chondroitin sulfate, the remaining part keratan sulfate and glycoproteins. After digestion of thin cartilage slices with hyaluronidase or chondroitinase ABC the chondroitin sulfate content was less than 50% of that in the buffer-incubated controls. Concomitantly, the matrix granules were reduced in size and number or completely absent. Papain digestion removed more than 90% of the chondroitin sulfate and all matrix granules. From these findings it was concluded that the matrix granules contain proteoglycans. Moreover, it seemed reasonable to assume that the Golgi vacuole granules, at least in part, represent intracellular proteoglycans. Signs of secretion of these granules by exocytosis were occasionally observed.

Influence of colchicine and vinblastine on the Golgi complex and matrix deposition in chondrocyte aggregates. An ultrastructural study

Abstract Fetal guinea-pig epiphyseal chondrocytes were isolated enzymatically, aggregated, and the aggregates maintained in organ culture. As revealed by light and electron microscopy, the cultures produced a typical cartilaginous matrix, but no calcification occurred. Exposure of aggregating cells, or preformed aggregates, to colchicine or vinblastihe at 10 −5 M concentration led to disappearance of the microtubules, dissociation of the Golgi complex into single dictyosomes, and clustering of lysosomes. Thus, in treated cells the dictyosomes with accompanying vesicular structures were dispersed throughout the cytoplasm, whereas they were localized in a well-defined juxtanuclear region in control cells. The number and size of the cisternae forming a dictyosome were often reduced. Cells treated with vinblastine displayed macrotubules and an increased number of phagosomes. Both drugs reduced the deposition of intercellular matrix. In cells first exposed to either of the drugs for 2 or 5 days and then transferred to fresh medium for 3 or 6 days, the microtubules reappeared, the Golgi complex regained its normal appearance, and the amount of matrix increased. These findings are discussed in view of present concepts of the role of microtubules in cell secretion.

Proteoglycans of mineralizing rib and epiphyseal cartilage.

Rib cartilage from growing guinea pigs and epiphyseal cartilage from Beagle puppies were separated into three fractions, representing non-mineralized, low mineralized, and high mineralized, tissue, by centrifuging finely ground material in acetone/bromoform density gradients. Following extraction under dissociative conditions, the proteoglycans were fractionated by density gradient ultracentrifugation under associative and dissociative conditions. With the onset of mineralization, the cartilage lost approximately half its content of proteoglycans. The proteoglycans remaining in the calcified cartilage differed in composition and in size from those of nonmineralized tissue. With the increased mineral content of the tissues the ratios of protein to polysaccharide, of chondroitin sulfate to keratan sulfate, and of 4-sulfate to 6-sulfated chondroitin sulfate increased in the proteoglycan fraction. Furthermore, gel chromatograms indicated decreased proportions of very high molecular weight proteoglycans, in mineralized tissue.

Influence of colchicine on the synthesis and secretion of proteoglycans and collagen by fetal guinea pig chondrocytes

Fetal guinea-pig epiphyseal chondrocytes were cultured in monolayers and as aggregates in the presence of antimicrotubular agents. Colchicine and vinblastine caused a dissociation of the Golgi complex, in addition to the disappearance of microtubules. Synthesis and secretion of proteoglycans and collagen were studied using radioactive precursors. Colchicine inhibited the synthesis of proteoglycans. The drug also inhibited secretion with an intracellular accumulation of these molecules. The proteoglycans secreted by the colchicine-treated cells had a smaller molecular size and contained a smaller proportion of aggregated molecules than proteoglycans in control cultures. However, there was no difference in the average size of the chondroitin sulfate side chains of the proteoglycan molecules. Nor was there any increase in the breakdown of proteoglycans in colchicine-treated cultures. Vinblastine was also found to inhibit synthesis and secretion of proteoglycans. Deuterium oxide also inhibited the synthesis of these molecules but stimulated their secretion into the medium. Colchicine caused an inhibition of both synthesis and secretion of collagen. It is suggested that the quantitative and qualitative effects of colchicine could be the result of disturbances in the Golgi complex, possibly in combination with a retarded translocation of secretory vacuoles. However, as the colchicine-treated chondrocytes were still able to continue a large part of their matrix biosynthesis with only moderate changes in the structure of the secreted molecules, it is probable that alternative pathways for the secretion of matrix molecules exist and/or the Golgi complex is able to retain a major part of its function despite the structural alterations.

Chemical and metabolic heterogeneity of chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate in guinea pig cartilage and nucleus pulposus

Abstract Chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate in guinea pig costal cartilage, nasal septum cartilage and nucleus pulposus were separated and fractionated by chromatography on CPC-cellulose, ECTEOLA-cellulose and Sephadex G-200 columns. Characterization of the chondroitin sulfates included determination of molecular weight and of the number, and position, of sulfate groups of the disaccharide units. Distinct chemical differences were found between the total fractions of chondroitin sulfate from the three tissues. Within the total fractions a marked heterogeneity was also apparent. The turnover of the two glycosaminoglycans was studied by using radioactive sulfate as precursor. The guinea pigs were killed at eight intervals, ranging from 30 min to 40 days after injection of the isotope. Total fractions of chondroitin sulfate from rib, nasal septum and nucleus pulposus showed half-lives of about 80, 40 and 30 days, respectively. In addition, the existence of a second metabolic component with a faster turnover (half-life about 3 days) was indicated in chondroitin sulfate from all three tissues. Similarly, keratan sulfate from the rib contained a ‘slow’ component with a half-life of about 90 days and a ‘fast’ component with a half-life of 4 days. For keratan sulfate from nucleus pulposus only a single component was demonstrable; it had a half-life of about 30 days. Within the total fractions of both chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate from the three tissues studied, a considerable degree of metabolic heterogeneity was apparent between, and within, subfractions of differing molecular weight.

Secretion of proteoglycans by chondrocytes: Influence of colchicine, cytochalasin B, and β-d-xyloside

Chondrocytes obtained from epiphyseal cartilage of fetal guinea pigs or ear cartilage of young rabbits were cultured in monolayer. The influence of colchicine, cytochalasin B, and p-nitrophenyl-β-d-xylopyranoside on secretion of proteoglycans was investigated. Radioactive sulfate was used as a precursor. As observed previously in other systems, β-d-xylosides initiated the synthesis of free chondroitin sulfate chains, competing with the endogenous proteoglycan core protein acceptor. The molecular weights of the chondroitin sulfate chains synthesized both on the xyloside and on the core-protein acceptor in maximally stimulated cells were similar and significantly lower than in proteoglycans synthesized in the absence of xyloside. The size of the chondroitin sulfate chains synthesized on the xyloside was inversely related to the concentration of this compound. This finding suggests that the chain length is dependent on the ratio between available acceptor and chain-lengthening enzymes or precursors. Cytochalasin B, a microfilament-modifying agent, inhibited proteoglycan synthesis, without any effect on secretion. Cells treated with cytochalasin B could be stimulated with β-d-xyloside to synthesize free chondroitin sulfate chains to the same relative degree as cells with intact microfilaments. Colchicine, an antimicrotubular agent, partially inhibited synthesis and secretion of proteoglycan. However, cells treated with colchicine could be stimulated with β-d-xyloside to synthesize and secrete free chondroitin sulfate chains to about the same relative degree as cells with intact microtubules. The data suggest that microtubules may have a facilitatory rather than an obligatory role in the secretion of proteoglycans and that at least part of the effect of colchicine is located at or after the site of glycosaminoglycan synthesis.

Turnover of proteoglycans in guinea pig costal cartilage.

Abstract The turnover in vivo of proteoglycans of guinea pig costal cartilage was investigated using Na235SO4 as precursor. Proteoglycans were extracted with guanidine · HCl, at both low and high ionic strength, and purified and fractionated by ultracentrifugation in CsCl gradients under associative and dissociative conditions. The results suggest that the sulfate is incorporated into macromolecules of at least two major metabolic pools with half-lives of about 3 days and about 60–70 days, respectively. Molecules with a fast turnover were enriched in the low ionic strength extracts and in fractions containing small, nonaggregated proteoglycans. No substantial evidence was found for a precursor-product relationship between different fractions.

Candida albicans arthritis in a nonimmuno-compromised patient: Complication of placebo intraarticular injections

A nonimmunocompromised 32-year-old man with arthrosis of the knee participated as a placebo control in a clinical trial of intraarticular injections of hyaluronan. After the fourth weekly injection of saline, he developed a warm and swollen knee, and synovial fluid cultures revealed growth of Candida albicans. Oral fluconazole treatment was instituted 2 weeks after onset of symptoms, but failed to eradicate the infection. The patient recovered after treatment with local and systemic amphotericin B, systemic 5-fluorocytosine and surgical synovectomy. Quantitation of joint cartilage proteoglycan fragments in synovial fluid indicated extensive breakdown of cartilage during the acute phase of arthritis but, parallel to clinical recovery, these levels returned to normal.

Production of cartilage-typic proteoglycans in cultures of chondrocytes from elastic cartilage

Abstract Chondrocytes from rabbit ear cartilage were isolated and cultured as monolayers in Hams F-12 medium. The proteoglycans synthesized by short-term cultures formed a high proportion of aggregates and contained chrondroitin-4- and -6-sulfate in a 2:1 proportion. Dermatan sulfate was not present. The average molecular weight of the chondroitin sulfate was about 20,000. Keratan sulfate with an average molecular weight of about 6000 could be isolated from the proteoglycan monomers. Rabbit ear chondrocytes in culture thus produced proteoglycans comparable to those isolated from hyaline cartilage. Culture for longer periods and plating at lower density caused a decrease in the proportion of aggregated proteoglycans. Primary cultures continued to synthesize aggregated proteoglycans for at least 2 weeks, while subdivision of the cultures caused a shift toward the production of small-sized “ubiquitous proteoglycans.” The synthesis of proteoglycan aggregates could, however, be partly restored by transfer of the monolayer cells to a suspension culture.

Ion exchange chromatography of glucosamine and galactosamine in microgram amounts with quantitative determination and specific radioactivity assay

A rapid method for the separation and quantitative determination, including radioassay, of glucosamine and galactosamine in microgram amounts is described. It is based upon the use of a column of Aminex A-5 ion exchange resin eluted with a phosphate buffer at pH 7.00 and 60 °C. From each fraction half the volume is used for a scaled down Elson-Morgan procedure and other half for liquid scintillation counting. Amounts of about 0.01–1 μmole of hexosamine may be separated and determined.