The urinary excretion of heparan sulfate by juvenile- and adult-onset diabetic patients.

The daily urinary excretions of total polymeric glycosaminoglycans and of polymeric heparan sulfate have been measured in the urine of juvenile-onset and adult-onset diabetics of both sexes and in those of normal controls. The results indicate that diabetic patients excrete more polymeric heparan sulfate than their controls, either in an absolute amount or as a percentage of the total glycosaminoglycans excreted. These results suggest that in the course of diabetes there is an increased degradation of heparan sulfate to large oligosaccharide fragments. These are excreted before being completely degraded to monosaccharides and inorganic sulfate.