heparitin-sulfate and Bone-Diseases

Insufficient cell number hampers therapies utilizing adult human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and current ex vivo expansion strategies lead to a loss of multipotentiality. Here we show that supplementation with an embryonic form of heparan sulfate (HS-2) can both increase the initial recovery of hMSCs from bone marrow aspirates and increase their ex vivo expansion by up to 13-fold. HS-2 acts to amplify a subpopulation of hMSCs harboring longer telomeres and increased expression of the MSC surface marker stromal precursor antigen-1. Gene expression profiling revealed that hMSCs cultured in HS-2 possess a distinct signature that reflects their enhanced multipotentiality and improved bone-forming ability when transplanted into critical-sized bone defects. Thus, HS-2 offers a novel means for decreasing the expansion time necessary for obtaining therapeutic numbers of multipotent hMSCs without the addition of exogenous growth factors that compromise stem cell fate.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Animals; Biomarkers; Bone Diseases; Bone Marrow; Bone Regeneration; Cell Differentiation; Cell Lineage; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Gene Expression Profiling; Heparitin Sulfate; Humans; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Middle Aged; Models, Animal; Rats; Rats, Nude; Telomere; Time Factors; Young Adult

Increasing evidence indicates that heparan sulfate (HS) is an integral component of many morphogen signaling pathways. However, its mechanisms of action appear to be diverse, depending on the type of morphogen and the developmental contexts. To define the function of HS in skeletal development, we conditionally ablated Ext1, which encodes an essential glycosyltransferase for HS synthesis, in limb bud mesenchyme using the Prx1-Cre transgene. These conditional Ext1 mutant mice display severe limb skeletal defects, including shortened and malformed limb bones, oligodactyly, and fusion of joints. In developing limb buds of mutant mice, chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal condensations is delayed and impaired, whereas the area of differentiation is diffusely expanded. Correspondingly, the distribution of both bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling domains and BMP2 immunoreactivity in the mutant limb mesenchyme is broadened and diffuse. In micromass cultures, chondrogenic differentiation of mutant chondrocytes is delayed, and the responsiveness to exogenous BMPs is attenuated. Moreover, the segregation of the pSmad1/5/8-expressing chondrocytes and fibronectin-expressing perichondrium-like cells surrounding chondrocyte nodules is disrupted in mutant micromass cultures. Together, our results show that HS is essential for patterning of limb skeletal elements and that BMP signaling is one of the major targets for the regulatory role of HS in this developmental context.

Topics: Animals; Bone and Bones; Bone Diseases; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; Chondrocytes; Fibronectins; Glycosaminoglycans; Heparitin Sulfate; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Mesoderm; Mice; Models, Biological; Mutation; N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases; Signal Transduction

Crude glycosaminoglycan (GAG) fraction was directly precipitated with cetylpyridinium chloride without prior dialysis of urine of orthopedic patients. The crude GAG fraction was then fractionated with trichloroacetic acid (TCA). The TCA-insoluble peptide-bound GAG fraction thus obtained was treated with alkali to eliminate the peptide moiety for enzymatic analysis. The GAG compositions of this fraction and the TCA-soluble fraction were determined by digestion with mucopolysaccharidases (chondroitinase AC, chondroitinase B, chondroitinase C, heparitinase and Streptomyces hyaluronidase). When the amount of the crude GAG fraction was small, no significant amount of the TCA-insoluble peptide-bound GAG fraction was obtained. The GAG composition of this case was also determined by the same procedures after direct alkali-treatment of the crude GAG fraction. The data indicated that the proportion of the TCA-insoluble peptide-bound GAG fraction was very small. The alkali-treated TCA-insoluble peptide-bound GAG fraction contained a larger proportion of heparan sulfate than the TCA-soluble GAG fraction. It was clearly demonstrated that the patients with Werner's syndrome and mucopolysaccharidosis I-S (Scheie) excreted large amounts of hyaluronic acid and dermatan sulfate respectively, into urines. It was indicated in most cases that major urinary GAG were chondroitin 4-sulfate, chondroitin 6-sulfate plus chondroitin and heparan sulfate, while minor ones were dermatan sulfate and hyaluronic acid. In addition, the data suggested a wide range of the degree of desulfation or urinary GAG, and the presence of significant amounts of keratan sulfate plus acidic glycopeptides in the urinary GAG fractions. The present data provided more precise information on urinary GAG from orthopedic patients than those reported previously.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Bone Diseases; Chemical Fractionation; Chondroitin Sulfates; Dermatan Sulfate; Female; Glucuronidase; Glycosaminoglycans; Heparitin Sulfate; Humans; Hyaluronic Acid; Lyases; Male; Middle Aged; Mucopolysaccharidosis I; Werner Syndrome