title: Distribution of hyaluronan and dermatan/chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans in human aortic dissection.
abstract: Aortic dissections (AD) are characterized by the separation of the artery into two sheets, possibly due to fragility of the vessel wall. A mucoid histological pattern, imparted to the tissues mainly by hyaluronan and proteoglycans, can be seen in "cysts" and, in chronic cases, in a band of repair tissue. We studied the localization of hyaluronan, versican, decorin and biglycan in situ in aortas of 21 patients with recent AD, 8 with chronic AD and in 15 control cases. None of these substances was increased in the areas of mucoid "cysts" that possibly contain anomalous material. Similar distributions were seen in normal and dissected aortas: versican and hyaluronan were more prominent in the external half of the medial layer where the dissection usually occurs. Since these molecules play a role in resistance to compression, disorders not detected by our method may be involved in aortic dissection. Hyaluronan was seen adjacent to fibrin at the dissection tear, probably as an early wound repair phenomenon. Biglycan, hyaluronan and mostly versican are seen during advanced repairing. The mucoid deposits may represent various compounds which reflect different disorders in vascular biology.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Anatomia Patológica, Instituto do Coração-HC FMUSP, São Paulo SP, Brazil. anppaulo@incor5.incor.usp.br
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Higuchi
authors.forename: V D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Aiello
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Stolf
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D058578:Biglycan; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate / Q000032:analysis*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: C546884:BGN protein, human; D058578:Biglycan; D011508:Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans; C032649:dermatan sulfate proteoglycan; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid