A study of acidic glycosaminoglycans in human gastric tissue.

The acidic glycosaminoglycans (AGAG) in normal portions of human gastric tissue were separated by electrophoresis in 3 buffer systems. Paper chromatographic separation of the constitutional disaccharide units by digestion of chondroitin sulfates (CS) with chondroitinase-ABC and chondroitinase-AC was carried out after fractionation of CS by ion-exchange resin column chromatography. Thin-layer chromatography of hexosamines and other biochemical analysis were also performed. The presence of hyaluronic acid in the gastric tissue was substantiated by the enzymatic susceptibility to streptomyces hyaluronidase. The results indicated that human gastric AGAG consisted of, in the order of amount, heparan sulfates, dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin-4-sulfate, chondroitin-6-sulfate and presumably oversulfated chondroitin sulfate.