Biochemical studies of the matrix of craniovertebral chordoma and a metastasis.

Glycosaminoglycans of human chordoma and a metastasis were studied. The glycosaminoglycans were derived from the extracellular matrix and consisted of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulphate, keratan sulphate and hyaluronate. The ratio of chondroitin sulphate to keratan sulphate was much lower in the metastasis than in the primary. Proteoglycan extracted with 4M guanidinium chloride and purified by associative density-gradient centrifugation was assessed on Sepharose 2B before and after reduction and alkylation. The result of this experiment suggested that only a small proportion of the proteoglycans were aggregated.