Isolation and structural characterization of bioactive glycosaminoglycans from the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) are sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains that consist of repeating disaccharide units composed of hexosamine and hexuronic acid. GAG chains exhibit diverse bioactivities in a structure-specific manner. Marine invertebrates are a rich source of highly sulfated and rare structures of GAG chains. Here, we isolated GAGs from the green-lipped mussel Perna canaliculus, an aquaculture species that is produced on a large scale. We separated GAGs based on the degree of negative charges and analyzed their disaccharide compositions. CS and HS both exhibited characteristic compositions of differently sulfated disaccharides. CS chains showed a higher degree of sulfation than HS chains and contained a high percentage of the E unit disaccharide GlcA-GalNAc(4,6-O- disulfate). Furthermore, CS chains rich in the E unit stimulated the neurite outgrowth of primary cultured neurons. The present results indicate the potential of P. canaliculus GAGs as biomaterials to study the structure-function relationships of GAGs.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate are sulfated glycosaminoglycan chains with different levels of sulfation and disaccharide compositions. The sulfated glycosaminoglycans from Perna canaliculus show potential as biomaterials for studying the structure-function relationships.