Proteoglycans of the articular disc of the bovine temporomandibular joint. II. Low molecular weight dermatan sulphate proteoglycan.

The low molecular weight proteoglycan fraction extracted from articular discs with 4 M guanidinium chloride was found to consist predominantly of an iduronate-rich dermatan sulphate proteoglycan, together with chondroitin sulphate-containing material. The dermatan sulphate proteoglycan was purified by ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography and its core protein isolated after digestion with chondroitinase ABC. The amino acid composition and pattern of cyanogen bromide peptides obtained from this core were closely similar to those of the protein core of bovine skin proteodermatan sulphate. Four monoclonal antibodies raised against bovine skin proteodermatan sulphate also reacted with the disc protein core and its cyanogen bromide peptides. Results of digestion with glycopeptidase F demonstrated the presence of three N-linked oligosaccharides. The combined size of these oligosaccharides appeared to be somewhat less than the size of those on skin proteodermatan sulphate. The glycosaminoglycan chain released by digestion with cathepsin C had a higher molecular weight than that from skin. These differences in glycosylated structures may be responsible for the different effects on collagen fibrillogenesis in vitro; whereas skin proteodermatan sulphate only reduced the rate of fibril growth, disc dermatan sulphate proteoglycan also increased the length of the lag-phase and the final opacity.