Keratan sulfate

About: Keratan sulfate is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1253 publications have been published within this topic receiving 57984 citations. The topic is also known as: keratan sulfate & KS.

Self-Association of Copolymeric Glycosaminoglycans (Proteoglycans)

Abstract: Connective tissue is composed of scattered cells embedded in an extracellular matrix consisting of abundant collagen fibers, elastin, and an amorphous ground substance dominated by proteoglycans. Proteoglycans contain a central protein core that is substituted with glycosaminoglycans. With the possible exception of hyaluronate all of the known glycosaminoglycans (Table 1) occur as proteoglycans. The various proteoglycans of the interfibrillar space are considered to control the architecture of the fibrillar network (Muir and Hardingham, 1975). A general observation is that the type of proteoglycan found in a tissue varies with the biomechanical properties of the tissue. The cartilage proteoglycan is especially designed for resisting compression and deformation by virtue of its aggregation with hyaluronate (carbohydrate—protein interaction) to form large, highly expanded supramolecular aggregates (Muir and Hardingham, 1975).

Structure and Properties of Cartilage Proteoglycans

Abstract: The most abundant cartilage proteoglycan is aggrecan, a bottlebrush shaped molecule that possesses over 100 glycosaminoglycan (chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate) chains. The side-chains are linear sulfated polysaccharides that are negatively charged under physiological conditions. Aggrecan interacts with hyaluronic acid (HA) to form large aggregates. Osmotic pressure measurements and rheological measurements are used to study the static and dynamic behavior of aggrecan assemblies at the macroscopic length scales. The microscopic properties of aggrecan solutions are determined by small angle neutron scattering (SANS), and static and dynamic light scattering (SLS and DLS). In dilute solutions aggrecan forms microgels with a diffuse boundary, composed of loosely connected clusters. The osmotic pressure of the aggrecan-HA system decreases with increasing HA content. DLS yields a relaxation rate that varies as q3, arising from internal modes in the microgel. The relaxation rate in the solutions of the aggrecan-HA complex is slightly greater than in the pure aggrecan solution.