Structural and functional changes of sulfated glycosaminoglycans in Xenopus laevis during embryogenesis

HANDLE Open Access

Abstract

Xenopus laevis is an excellent animal for analyzing early vertebrate development. Various effects of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on growth factor-related cellular events during embryogenesis have been demonstrated in Xenopus. To elucidate the relationship between alterations in fine structure and changes in the specificity of growth factor-binding during Xenopus development, heparan sulfate (HS) and chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) chains were isolated at four different embryonic stages and their structure and growth factor-binding capacities were compared. The total amounts of both HS and CS/DS chains decreased from the pre-midblastula transition to the gastrula stage, but increased exponentially during the following developmental stages. The length of HS chains was not significantly affected by development, whereas that of CS/DS chains increased with development. The disaccharide composition of GAGs in embryos also changed during development. The degree of sulfation of the HS chains gradually decreased with development. The predominant sulfation position in the CS/DS chains shifted from C4 to C6 of GalNAc during embryogenesis. Growth factor-binding experiments using a BIAcore system demonstrated that GAGs bound growth factors including fibroblast growth factors-1, and -2, midkine, and pleiotrophin, with comparable affinities. These affinities significantly varied during development, although the correlation between the structural alterations of GAGs and the change in the ability to bind growth factors remains to be clarified. Expression of saccharide sequences, which specifically interact with a growth factor, might be regulated during development.

Journal

  • Glycobiology

    Glycobiology 19 (5), 488-498, 2009-05

    Oxford University Press

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Details

  • CRID
    1050282813977675904
  • NII Article ID
    120002087034
  • ISSN
    14602423
    09596658
  • HANDLE
    2115/43036
  • Text Lang
    en
  • Article Type
    journal article
  • Data Source
    • IRDB
    • CiNii Articles
    • KAKEN

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