Effect of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate on cell-surface glycosaminoglycans in human diploid fibroblasts.

The effect of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on the loss of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) from the pericellular compartment of human skin fibroblasts was studied. GAGs from this compartment were analyzed by anion-exchange chromatography after cultures had been labelled with both [3H]glucosamine and [35S]sulfate and then chased in either the presence or absence of TPA. In both control and TPA cultures radioactivity was found in glycopeptides, hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate (HS), and chondroitin sulfate. The amount of radioactivity that was found in HS was reduced in the TPA cultures, whereas the amounts in the other GAGs were essentially unchanged when control and treated cultures were compared. These results suggest that TPA stimulates the loss of HS from the surface of human fibroblasts.