Composition of acidic glycosaminoglycans in human cerebral arteries.

(1) The composition of acidic glycosaminoglycans (AGAG) in the pooled human cerebral arteries was investigated by electrophoretic characterization before and after digestion with chondroitinases. Constitution of the chondroitin sulfate (CS) family was determined qualitatively on the basis of the disaccharide subunits of the CS chains after depolymerization with the enzymes. (2) The data obtained indicated that the AGAG in cerebral arteries consisted of, in order of amount, heparan sulfates, chondroitin-6-sulfate, dermatan sulfate, chondroitin-4-sulfate and hyaluronic acid. (3) The existence of oversulfated CS and undersulfated CS in the cerebral AGAG was supported by the detection of unsaturated di-sulfated and non-sulfated disaccharides on paper chromatography. In addition, the presence of hyaluronic acid was indicated by electrophoretic and enzymatic separation. (4) The distribution of the individual AGAG in cerebral arteries was also examined on the basis of molecular weight by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column.