Biosynthesis of hyaluronic acid in cultures of chondrocytes from the Swarm rat chondrosarcoma.

The synthesis of hyaluronic acid by cultured chondrocytes from the Swarm rat chondrosarcoma was examined using [3H]glucosamine as a precursor. [3H]Hyaluronate in samples was estimated as the specific unsaturated disaccharide released by incubation with chondroitinase ABC under conditions where all [3H]hyaluronate was converted to disaccharide even in the presence of excess chondroitin sulfate. The products of digestion of chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronate were well separated by cellulose thin layer chromatography. A second method involving quantitation of the 3H-oligosaccharides released by digestion with Streptomyces hyaluronidase gave nearly identical results. [3H]Hyaluronate formed about 12% of the [3H]glycosaminoglycans synthesized by the chondrocytes, although levels as high as 20% were found in one set of cultures. The incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into chondroitin sulfate and hyaluronate was linear and at a constant ratio over a 24-h period. The distributions of [35S]proteoglycans, [3H]chondroitin sulfate, and [3H]hyaluronate between the medium, a 4.0 M guanidine HCl extract of the cell layer, and the cell residue, were investigated over 24 h. Both hyaluronate and proteoglycan accumulated in the medium with little retention in the cell layer. Pulse-chase experiments indicated that a greater proportion of the [3H]hyaluronate than the [3H]chondroitin sulfate was initially retained in the cells, but that subsequently [3H]hyaluronate accumulated more rapidly in the medium, suggesting differences in the transit time through the extracellular matrix for the two molecules once secreted from the cell. In cultures labeled for 6 h, 4.0 M guanidine HCl extracted 66% of the hyaluronate and 58% of the chondroitin sulfate associated with the cell layer, while 1% Zwittergent, a zwitterionic detergent, extracted 59% and 29%, respectively. The selective extraction with detergent suggests that there is a pool of hyaluronate in the cell layer which is not associated with proteoglycan aggregates. Equilibrium density gradient centrifugation of cell layer extracts and culture media, under dissociative conditions, showed that 89% of the [3H]hyaluronate banded at densities between 1.43-1.55 g/ml with a peak at 1.47 g/ml. Disaccharide analyses of the gradient fractions showed that the main proteoglycan component contained primarily chondroitin 4-sulfate but also revealed a minor proteoglycan at lower densities which was considerably enriched in chondroitin 6-sulfate.