Neuronal proteoglycans: biosynthesis and functional interaction with neurons in vitro.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) with electrophoretic mobilities on cellulose acetate similar to heparin (H), heparan sulfate (HS), and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were detected in cell extracts and in conditioned medium of high-density, neuron-enriched cultures labeled with 35SO4. Heparitinase digestion revealed that heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) were heterogeneous in charge density and were responsible for neurite outgrowth activity for sensory neurons in conditioned medium. In the presence of beta-D-xyloside, an inhibitor of proteoglycan assembly, there was an increase of released GAGs with the mobility of CS and heavily sulfated HS but a decrease in neurite outgrowth activity on a laminin substrate at times greater than 14 hr. In the presence of beta-D-xyloside or the monoclonal antibody HNK-1 (Leu 7), which recognizes a neuronal cell surface epitope, there was a time-dependent inhibition of process formation that was half-maximal at 7-8 hr and independent of laminin concentration or cell adhesion to the laminin substrate. The kinetics and magnitude of the inhibitory effects of beta-D-xyloside and HNK-1 (Leu 7) were similar, and the influence of HNK-1 (Leu 7) could no longer be observed in the presence of beta-D-xyloside. Pretreatment of the laminin substrate with conditioned medium from high-density neuron cultures resulted in an increased rate of neurite formation compared with untreated laminin. Where the laminin substrate had been pretreated with conditioned medium, maximal inhibition by HNK-1 (Leu 7) was apparent from the earliest times. However, if the conditioned medium had been digested with heparitinase, neither enhanced neurite outgrowth nor the inhibitory influence of HNK-1 (Leu 7) were observed. The present biosynthetic and functional studies suggest that neurons are one source of HSPGs. These data complement and extend earlier studies suggesting a role for HSPGs in neurite formation. The experiments also provide evidence for modulation of laminin by HSPGs which interact with laminin and promote neurite outgrowth that is mediated by a cell surface receptor at or in juxtaposition to the HNK-1 (Leu 7) epitope.