Identification of the mucopolysaccharides in catecholamine-containing subcellular particel fractions from various rat, cat and ox tissues.
Subcellular fractions containing adrenergic vesicles were obtained from bovine adrenal medulla and splenic nerve, rat and cat heart, and rat spleen. The fractions were washed free from lipids, digested with papain and the mucopolysaccharides (MPSs) then precipitated  from the supernatant with ethanolic potassium acetate. The mpsswere identified by several different methods--microelectrophoresis on cellulose acetate in various media, cellulose column chromatography using elution solvents of increasing ionic strength, and treatment with specific enzymes followed by electrophoresis or column chromatography. The MPS precipitate from all the sources investigated contained dermatan sulphate or a dermatan sulphate-chondroitin sulphate hybrid. in addition, the precipitate from rat spleen was found to contain chondroitin sulphate. Heparan sulphate was found in the precipitates from rat heart and spleen and hyaluronic acid in that from bovine splenic nerve. The finding of sulphomucopolysaccharides in the adrenergic vesicles, probably in a complex with protein, raises the question of the functional significance of such complexes. They might, by analogy with the ion-exchange function of the heparin-protein complex in mast cell granules, play a role in the storage and release of the amines.
D000313:Adrenal Medulla / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D002415:Cats; D002417:Cattle; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D013045:Species Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013433:Sulfoglycosphingolipids / Q000032:analysis; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
D002395:Catecholamines; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D013433:Sulfoglycosphingolipids; D009638:Norepinephrine