Analysis of glycosaminoglycans of flow sorted cells: incorporation of [35S]sulfate and [3H]glucosamine into glycosaminoglycans of B16-F10 cells during the cell cycle.

The incorporation of [35S]sulfate and [3H] glucosamine into cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) precipitable glycosaminoglycans was determined in B16-F10 cultured cells sorted with respect to DNA content. Incorporation into surface material was measured indirectly as the difference between the radioactivity of control and trypsin treated cells. Approximately 80% of the total cellular [35S] sulfate labeled CPC precipitable material, but only 5% of that labeled by [3H]glucosamine, was removed by this mild trypsin treatment. Incorporation of [35S]sulfate into the trypsin removable surface material increased progressively from G1 to S to F2 + M in both long-term (48 hours) and short-term (1 hour) labeled cells, while the ratio of surface to total incorporated [35S]sulfate remained relatively constant. Incorporation of [35S]sulfate into total cellular glycosaminoglycans in long- and short-term labeled cells increased as cells progressed from G1 to S to G2 + M; the incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into CPC precipitable material also increased progressively from G1 to S to G2 + M in long-term labeled cells but was greater during S phase relative to G1 or G2 + M in short-term labeled cells. The degree of sulfation of glycosaminoglycans as represented by the ratio of [35S]sulfate to [3H]glucosamine of double labeled cells was relatively constant in long-term labeled cells but was increased during the G1 and G2 + M phases of short-term labeled cells. Comparison of the degree of sulfation of short-term with long-term labeled cells suggests that highly sulfated glycosaminoglycans may be turned over more rapidly during G1 and G2 + M phases of the cell cycle.