The synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by cultures of corneal stromal cells from patients with keratoconus.

Keratoconus is a disease that results in thinning and ectasia of the central cornea. Cultures of corneal stromal cells from patients with keratoconus were established and the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans compared with the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by normal human corneal stromal cells in culture. Keratoconus and normal control cell cultures were incubated with sodium [(35)S]sulfate and [(3)H]glucosamine for 4 h. After incubation, the labeled glycosaminoglycans were isolated from the medium fractions and cells. Keratoconus and normal control cultures synthesized similar amounts of sulfated glycosaminoglycans independent of the age of donors and(or) the number of subcultures. In contrast to normal control cultures, most of the newly synthesized glycosaminoglycans produced by keratoconus cells were found in the growth medium and much less were in the cell layer. Treatment with glycosaminoglycan-degrading enzymes followed by paper chromatography showed that keratoconus cells, as normal control cells, produced hyaluronic acid and various sulfated glycosaminoglycans. The production of cell layer-related heparan sulfate was markedly reduced in keratoconus cultures. Because heparan sulfate has been shown to be associated with cell surfaces, the decreased heparan sulfate content could reflect changes at this location.