Demonstration of glycosaminoglycans in Caenorhabditis elegans

A considerable amount (approximately 1.6 mu g from 1 mg of dried nematode) of non-sulfated chondroitin, two orders of magnitude less yet an appreciabl e amount of heparan sulfate, and no hyaluronate were found in Caenorhabditi s elegans nematodes, The chondroitin chains were heterogeneous in size, bei ng shorter than that of whale cartilage chondroitin sulfate. The disacchari de composition analysis of heparan sulfate revealed diverse sulfation inclu ding glucosamine 2-N-sulfation, glucosamine 6-O-sulfation and uronate 2-O-s ulfation. These results imply that chondroitin and heparan sulfate are invo lved in fundamental biological processes. (C) 1999 Federation of European B iochemical Societies.