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Glycobiology, 2001, Vol. 11, No. 6 433-440
© 2001 Oxford University Press

Embryos of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus synthesize a dermatan sulfate enriched in 4-O- and 6-O-disulfated galactosamine units

Ana-Cristina E.S. Vilela-Silva2, Claudio C. Werneck2, Ana Paula Valente3, Victor D. Vacquier4 and Paulo A.S. Mourão1,2

2Laboratório de Tecido Conjuntivo, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho and Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 68041, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-590, Brazil, 3Centro Nacional de Ressonância Nuclear Magnética, Departamento de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, and 4Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0202, USA

Unfertilized eggs of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus are surrounded by a gelatinous layer rich in sulfated fucan. Shortly after fertilization this polysaccharide disappears, but 24 h later the embryos synthesize high amounts of dermatan sulfate concomitantly with the mesenchyme blastula–early gastrula stage when the larval gut is forming. This glycosaminoglycan has the same backbone structure [4-{alpha}-L-IdoA-1->3-ß-D-GalNAc-1]n as the mammalian counterpart but possesses a different sulfation pattern. It has a high content of 4-O- and 6-O-disulfated galactosamine units. In addition, chains of this dermatan sulfate are considerable longer than those of vertebrate tissues. Adult sea urchin tissues contain high concentrations of sulfated polysaccharides, but dermatan sulfate is restricted to the adult body wall where it accounts for ~20% of the total sulfated polysaccharides. In addition, sulfation at the 4-O-position decreases markedly in the dermatan sulfate from adult sea urchin when compared with the glycan from larvae. Overall, these results demonstrate the occurrence of dermatan sulfates with unique sulfation patterns in this marine invertebrate. The physiological implication of these oversulfated dermatan sulfates is unclear. One hypothesis is that interactions between components of the extracellular matrix in marine invertebrates occur at higher salt concentrations than in vertebrates and therefore require glycosaminoglycans with increased charge density.

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed


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