Changes in CD of hyaluronates and chondroitins upon periodate oxidation

Optical anisotropy of alcian blue-stained acid glycosaminoglycans

Optical anisotropy as dispersion of birefringence (DB) (birefringence studied for light of different wavelengths) and linear dichroism (LD) (selective absorption of polarized light) in stained substrates reflects their macromolecular orientation states. Birefringence interference colors of alcian blue (AB)-stained glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and glycoconjugates observed with polarization microscopy have been found to vary, although their staining characteristics under unpolarized light are practically the same. We investigated the optical anisotropy of GAG-AB and some glycoconjugate-AB complexes used as standards, to provide a basis for interpreting results for AB-stained materials in situ. Filamentous preparations of hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitinsulfates, proteoglycans, and a mucus sulfoglycoconjugate were studied. Anomalous DB (birefringence sign changing with the wavelength of the incident light) was generally observed, but LD was seen only in the AB-HA complex. LD simultaneous to anomalous DB characteristics on the AB-HA complex were assumed to be caused by a maximally oriented helical conformation of the HA. For the other AB-GAG studied, the optical anisotropic characteristics were suggestive of some degree of folding of their chains into a tertiary structure. The profiles of the anomalous DB curves for the AB-stained sulfoglycoconjugate differed from those of the other materials, probably due to different organization of its dye-binding sites.

Glycosaminoglycan conformations and changes on periodate oxidation

The progressive periodate oxidation of glycosaminoglycans (GAG), including hyaluronate (HA), chondroitins (CH) (chondroitin, chondroitin 4- and 6-sulfate), dermatan sulfate (DS), and keratan sulfate (KS), were monitored by CD and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a size-exclusion column. The rate of oxidation also was measured and calculated using first- and second-order kinetics, and the data appear to fit better with first-order kinetics. In both HA and CH, the n - pi amide band at 208 nm decreases in intensity upon oxidation, but in HA it becomes positive after 16 h of periodate treatment. In CH, the band disappears, and the pi - pi amide band below 200 nm becomes optically active. Concomitantly, a second negative band near 290 nm appears for these two oxidized GAG. Oxidation causes a slight change in the CD of DS. It ordinarily displays a very weak n - pi band at 210 nm, but instead shows an intense pi - pi amide band near 190 nm. CD of KS remains unaffected by periodate. Kinetic studies, however, show a higher oxidation rate for DS than HA and CH. With the exception of KS, all other oxidized polymers shown an apparent decrease in molecular weight (higher peak retention time) in HPLC analysis. Both CD and HPLC results have been attributed to a major conformational change of HA and CH, and a minor one for DS. The ease and extent of periodate oxidation as well as the changes in molecular properties following periodate treatment are critically dependent on the configuration of the individual GAG rather than the oxidation rate. There is a distinct difference in the conformational change between HA and CH, as manifested by their dichroic behavior, that was attributed to the equatorial disposition of C-4 hydroxyl group in HA and axial disposition CH.