Tmpc. Ferreira et al., STRUCTURE OF HEPARAN-SULFATE FROM THE FRESH-WATER MOLLUSK ANOMANTIDAESP - SEQUENCING OF ITS DISACCHARIDE UNITS, International Journal of Biochemistry, 25(9), 1993, pp. 1219-1225
1. The disaccharide sequences of a heparan sulfate isolated from Anoma
ntidae sp. was determined with the aid of heparitinase I, heparitinase
II from Flavobacterium heparinum, mollusc beta-glucuronidase and alph
a-N-acetylglucosaminidase besides nitrous acid degradation and chemica
l analyses. 2. Like the mammalian heparan sulfates the mollusc heparan
sulfate is composed of different oligosaccharide blocks of N-acetylat
ed disaccharides, N-sulfated disaccharides and N,6-sulfated disacchari
des and has in its nonreducing end the monosaccharide glucosamine 2,6-
disulfate. 3. The oligosaccharides produced by heparitinase I degradat
ion contain at their reducing ends a N-acetylated, 6-sulfated disaccha
ride. 4. These and other results lead to the conclusion that the gener
al structure of the heparan sulfate is maintained through evolution.