Characterization of heparan sulfate proteoglycans synthesized by rat ovarian granulosa cells in culture.

Rat ovarian granulosa cells were isolated from immature female rats after stimulation with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin and maintained in culture. Proteoglycans were labeled using [35S]sulfate, [3H]serine, [3H]glucosamine, or [3H]mannose as precursors. A species of heparan sulfate proteoglycan was purified using DEAE-Sephacel chromatography under dissociative conditions in the presence of detergent. The heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which constituted approximately 15% of the 35S-labeled proteoglycans in the culture medium has a similar hydrodynamic size (Kd = 0.62 on Sepharose CL-2B) and buoyant density distribution in CsCl density gradients as the low buoyant density dermatan sulfate proteoglycan synthesized by the same granulosa cells and described in the accompanying report (Yanagishita, M., and Hascall, V. C. (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 12847-12856). The heparan sulfate chains (average Mr = 28,000) have an average of 0.8-0.9 sulfate groups/repeating disaccharide, of which 50% are N-sulfate, 30% are alkaline-labile O-sulfate (presumably on the 6-position of glucosamine residues), and 20% are alkaline-resistant O-sulfate groups. Alkaline borohydride treatment released both N-linked oligosaccharide-peptides containing mannose, glucosamine, and sialic acid, and O-linked oligosaccharides. Trypsin digestion of the proteoglycan generated fragments which contain (a) glycosaminoglycan-peptides with an average of 2 heparan sulfate chains/peptide; (b) clusters of O-linked oligosaccharides on peptides; and (c) N-linked oligosaccharide-peptides, which are as small as single N-linked oligosaccharides. The compositions of the O-linked and N-linked oligosaccharides and the trypsin fragments of this heparan sulfate proteoglycan were very similar to those of the low buoyant density dermatan sulfate proteoglycan synthesized by the same cells.