Biosynthetic relationships of the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan with Ia and invariant chain glycoproteins.

As a first step to elucidating the role of the Ia-associated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) in the biology of the Ia antigens, we have studied several aspects of the interactions of the CSPG with the Ia/invariant chain glycoproteins. These studies revealed that at any time point, only 2 to 5% of Ia molecules were associated with the CSPG, and that this fraction included Ia molecules that were expressed at the cell surface. Pulse-chase studies indicated that the association of Ia molecules and the CSPG was rapid and short lived. Newly synthesized [35S]sulfate-labeled CSPG molecules were detected in association with Ia molecules immediately after a 15-min pulse, but were barely detectable after a 30-min chase, and were completely undetectable after a 60-min chase. Similarly, newly synthesized [3H]leucine-labeled Ia molecules associated with the CSPG were detectable immediately after a 20-min pulse, and after a 75-min chase, but could not be detected in association with the CSPG after a 300-min chase. Virtually no CSPG that was similar in size to that associated with Ia molecules was found free in the cells or was secreted into the media. The results in this report are compatible with the hypothesis that some or all of the Ia molecules associate transiently with the CSPG, or that a small fraction of Ia molecules associate permanently with the CSPG in a short-lived complex. These studies tend to favor a role for the CSPG in the biosynthesis of Ia rather than in intracellular trafficking or in intercellular communication.