Influence of various compounds on the degradation of hyaluronic acid by a myeloperoxidase system

Hyaluronic acid chloramide-Synthesis, chemical structure, stability and analysis of antimicrobials

Electron-deficient chlorine covalently immobilised on an amido group of hyaluronic acid (HA) can be potentially exceptional for applications requiring biodegradable and biocompatible polymers with enhanced antibacterial or antiviral activity. This expectation is supported by the assumption that a small amount of HA chloramide (HACl) is formed in the extracellular matrix under inflammatory conditions by a reaction of endogenous HA with hypochlorous acid (HClO) generated by a myeloperoxidase/H₂O₂/Cl^- system. HACl synthesis optimisation showed significant limitations of HClO as an oxidative agent where only lower degrees of substitution (DS) was achieved. Commercially available oxidative agents based on chlorinated isocyanuric acid were successfully tested, producing the HA chain with almost entirely chlorinated amidic groups. The structure of the final HACl was thoroughly studied using advanced 2-dimensional NMR methodologies and LC/MS. Stability of HACl at different temperatures was monitored over 12 months. Preliminary antimicrobial and antiviral tests demonstrated the potential of HACl for applications in biomedicine.

Hyaluronan and Hyaluronan Fragments

The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) is a key component of the microenvironment surrounding cells. In healthy tissues, HA molecules have extremely high molecular mass and consequently large hydrodynamic volumes. Tethered to the cell surface by clustered receptor proteins, HA molecules crowd each other, as well as other macromolecular species. This leads to severe nonideality in physical properties of the biomatrix, because steric exclusion leads to an increase in effective concentration of the macromolecules. The excluded volume depends on both polymer concentration and hydrodynamic volume/molecular mass. The biomechanical properties of the extracellular matrix, tissue hydration, receptor clustering, and receptor-ligand interactions are strongly affected by the presence of HA and by its molecular mass. In inflammation, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species fragment the HA chains. Depending on the rate of chain degradation relative to the rates of new synthesis and removal of damaged chains, short fragments of the HA molecules can be present at significant levels. Not only are the physical properties of the extracellular matrix affected, but the HA fragments decluster their primary receptors and act as endogenous danger signals. Bioanalytical methods to isolate and quantify HA fragments have been developed to determine profiles of HA content and size in healthy and diseased biological fluids and tissues. These methods have potential use in medical diagnostic tests. Therapeutic agents that modulate signaling by HA fragments show promise in wound healing and tissue repair without fibrosis.

Oxidative damage to extracellular matrix and its role in human pathologies

The extracellular compartments of most biological tissues are significantly less well protected against oxidative damage than intracellular sites and there is considerable evidence for such compartments being subject to a greater oxidative stress and an altered redox balance. However, with some notable exceptions (e.g., plasma and lung lining fluid) oxidative damage within these compartments has been relatively neglected and is poorly understood. In particular information on the nature and consequences of damage to extracellular matrix is lacking despite the growing realization that changes in matrix structure can play a key role in the regulation of cellular adhesion, proliferation, migration, and cell signaling. Furthermore, the extracellular matrix is widely recognized as being a key site of cytokine and growth factor binding, and modification of matrix structure might be expected to alter such behavior. In this paper we review the potential sources of oxidative matrix damage, the changes that occur in matrix structure, and how this may affect cellular behavior. The role of such damage in the development and progression of inflammatory diseases is discussed.

Degradative action of reactive oxygen species on hyaluronan

Many human diseases are associated with harmful action of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These species are involved in the degradation of essential tissue or related components. One of such components is synovial fluid that contains a high-molecular-weight polymer--hyaluronan (HA). Uninhibited and/or inhibited hyaluronan degradation by the action of various ROS has been studied in many in vitro models. In these studies, the change of the molecular weight of HA or a related parameter, such as HA solution viscosity, has been used as a marker of inflicted damage. The aim of the presented review is to briefly summarize the available data. Their correct interpretation could contribute to the implementation of modern methods of evaluation of the antioxidative capacity of natural and synthetic substances and prospective drugs--potential inflammatory disease modifying agents. Another focus of this review is to evaluate briefly the impact of different available analytical techniques currently used to investigate the structure of native high-molecular-weight hyaluronan and/or of its fragments.

Relationship between lymph and tissue hyaluronan in skin and skeletal muscle

The size of hyaluronan was compared between tissue and lymph using a combination of agarose gel electrophoresis and radiometric assay. Prenodal lymph was collected from heel skin and the gastrocnemius muscle in anesthetized rabbits. The major fraction of hyaluronan in both tissues had a molecular weight >4 million. Lymph contained primarily low-molecular-weight hyaluronan (<0.79 x 10(6)), which was absent from tissue. Volume loading produced a preferential increase in the flux of low-molecular-weight hyaluronan, indicating that tissue contains a small quantity of mobile, low-molecular-weight hyaluronan. The maximum daily removal of hyaluronan by lymph was <1% of the tissue content. The amount of lysosomal hyaluronidase activity in tissue was more than enough to account for a rapid turnover of hyaluronan. The data support the conclusion that lymph drainage is not significant in the normal catabolism of hyaluronan and may represent a small amount that becomes detached from the pericellular and extracellular matrixes.

Ischemia-reperfusion does not cause significant hyaluronan depolymerization in skeletal muscle

The size of hyaluronan in lymph and gastrocnemius muscle was measured to test the hypothesis that reperfusion of ischemic skeletal muscle leads to hyaluronan depolymerization. Prenodal lymph was collected from the gastrocnemius muscle in anesthetized rabbits. Hyaluronan size was measured using a combination of agarose gel electrophoresis and a radiometric assay. In control legs, muscle contained primarily high-molecular-weight hyaluronan (greater then 4 x 10(6)), while lymph contained primarily low-molecular-weight hyaluronan (less than 0.79 x 10(6)) which was absent from tissue. Following 3 h of ischemia and 8 h of reperfusion, the lymph flux for high-molecular-weight hyaluronan was 25 times the value from the control leg. Neither the size nor the content of hyaluronan in tissue decreased. Muscle albumin content from the reperfused leg was 2.3 times the value from the control leg, while lymph albumin flux was 4 times the control value. Measurements following 24 h of reperfusion confirmed the absence of changes in the size or content of hyaluronan in tissue although an increased albumin content and wet weight-to-dry weight ratio indicated sustained edema. The daily removal of hyaluronan by lymph was calculated to be 2-3% of the tissue content. Since the lymph drainage of hyaluronan represented only a very small fraction of tissue hyaluronan, the amount of depolymerization was too small to produce significant changes in the tissue.

Towards a molecular understanding of arthritis

Several different agents including free radicals, oxidizing compounds and proteases are believed to play a role in the onset of arthritis. The evidence and underlying chemistry presently available for each destructive agent are presented.

Degradation of hyaluronic acid, poly- and monosaccharides, and model compounds by hypochlorite: evidence for radical intermediates and fragmentation

Degradation of hyaluronic acid by oxidants such as HO. and HOCl/CIO- is believed to be important in the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. While reaction of hyaluronic acid with HO. has been investigated extensively, reaction with HOCl/ClO- is less well defined. Thus, little is known about the site(s) of HOCl/ClO- attack, the intermediates formed, or the mechanism(s) of polymer degradation. In this study reaction of HOCl/ClO- with amides, sugars, polysaccharides, and hyaluronic acid has been monitored by UV-visible (220-340 nm) and EPR spectroscopy. UV-visible experiments have shown that HOCl/ClO- reacts preferentially with N-acetyl groups. This reaction is believed to give rise to transient chloramide (R-NCl-C(O)-R') species, which decompose rapidly to give radicals via either homolysis (to produce N. and Cl.) or heterolysis (one-electron reduction, to give N. and Cl.) of the N--C bond. The nature of the radicals formed has been investigated by EPR spin trapping. Reaction of HOCl/ClO- with hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulphates A and C, N-acetyl sugars, and amides gave novel, carbon-centered, spin adducts, the formation of which is consistent with selective initial attack at the N-acetyl group. Thus, reaction with hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate A, appears to be localized at the N-acetylglucosamine sugar rings. These carbon-centered radicals are suggested to arise from rapid rearrangement of initial nitrogen-centered radicals, formed from the N-acetyl chloramide, by reactions analogous to those observed with alkoxyl radicals. The detection of increasing yields of low-molecular-weight radical adducts from hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulphate A with increasing HOCl/ClO-concentrations suggests that formation of the initial nitrogen-centered species on the N-acetylglucosamine rings, and the carbon-centered radicals derived from them, brings about polymer fragmentation.

Analysis of differential gene expression in rat tibia after an osteogenic stimulus in vivo: mechanical loading regulates osteopontin and myeloperoxidase

The skeleton has the ability to alter its mass, geometry, and strength in response to mechanical stress. In order to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, differential display reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) was used to analyze gene expression in endocortical bone of mature female rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats, approximately 8 months old, received either a sham or bending load using a four-point loading apparatus on the right tibia. RNA was collected at 1 h and 24 h after load was applied, reverse-transcribed into cDNA, and used in DDRT-PCR. Parallel display of samples from sham and loaded bones on a sequencing gel showed several regulated bands. Further analysis of seven of these bands allowed us to isolate two genes that are regulated in response to a loading stimulus. Nucleotide analysis showed that one of the differentially expressed bands shares 99% sequence identity with rat osteopontin (OPN), a noncollagenous bone matrix protein. Northern blot analysis confirms that OPN mRNA expression is increased by nearly 4-fold, at 6 h and 24 h after loading. The second band shares 90% homology with mouse myeloperoxidase (MPO), a bactericidal enzyme found primarily in neutrophils and monocytes. Semiquantitative PCR confirms that MPO expression is decreased 4- to 10-fold, at 1 h and 24 h after loading. Tissue distribution analysis confirmed MPO expression in bone but not in other tissues examined. In vitro analysis showed that MPO expression was not detectable in total RNA from UMR 106 osteoblastic cells or in confluent primary cultures of osteoblasts derived from either rat primary spongiosa or diaphyseal marrow. Database analysis suggests that MPO is expressed by osteocytes. These findings reinforce the association of OPN expression to bone turnover and describes for the first time, decreased expression of MPO during load-induced bone formation. These results suggest a role for both OPN and MPO expression in bone cell function.