Terminal monosaccharides of carbohydrate chains of glycosaminoglycans in normal human urine.

To elucidate the mode of the exertion of glycosidase activities in the catabolism of the tissue glycosaminoglycans (GAG), the terminal monosaccharides of the carbohydrate chains of urinary GAG in the most prominent subfraction (40% Fr-1.25 M Fr) among the subfractions obtained in a previous paper (Endo et al. 1980a) were investigated. The results of determination of the reducing hexuronic acid and N-acetylhexosamine before and after digestion of the subfraction with beta-glucuronidase and beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase, together with previous data indicated that 0.36 and 0.37 mol of glucuronic acid and N-acetylgalactosamine, respectively, per mol of the subfraction were located at the non-reducing terminals of the carbohydrate chains. The remaining portion (0.27 mol per mol) of the non-reducing ends might be mostly occupied by the sulfated N-acetylgalactosamine residues. On the other hand, 0.25, 0.16 and 0.34 mol of glucuronic acid, N-acetylgalactosamine and xylose, respectively, per mol of the subfraction were indicated to the present at the reducing terminals of the carbohydrate chains. The remaining portion (0.25 mol per mol) of the reducing ends might be mostly occupied by the galactose residues and/or the N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate residues. The present observations provided with evidence for the action of endo-beta-glucuronidase and endo-beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase on the tissue GAG, specifically on chondroitin sulfates.