Isolation, identification, and quantitation of urinary glycosaminoglycans.
BACKGROUND
Substantial amounts of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are present in the urine of healthy individuals, but the concentration in the serum is very low. This finding suggests that urinary GAGs come from the glomerulus and may reflect the turnover of GAGs in the glomerulus.


OBJECTIVE
However, little is known about the physiologic regulation of the urinary GAGs in humans, and so investigations are needed to evaluate the effects of age and sex on urinary GAGs in normal individuals.


METHODS
Eighty-seven healthy subjects were included in this study. Urinary GAGs were isolated and quantified at the nanogram level by combined azure A-silver staining in agarose gels.


RESULTS
The level of urinary GAGs peaked at 10-19 years in both sexes. The proportion of chondroitin sulfate decreased with age, but the proportion of heparan sulfate increased with age.


CONCLUSIONS
The total amount of GAGs and the proportions of chondroitin sulfate, heparan sulfate, and dermatan sulfate appear to change with age. Therefore, investigations in which urinary GAG is used as a parameter of glomerular GAG turnover should ensure that control groups are precisely matched for age. Changes in the proportions of each GAG may be more informative than their absolute levels.
Lee
Eun-Young
EY
Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Research Institute, Soonchunhyang University, Chonan Hospital, Chonan, Korea.
Kim
Soo-Hyun
SH
Whang
Soo-Kyung
SK
Hwang
Kyu-Yoon
KY
Yang
Jong-Oh
JO
Hong
Sae-Yong
SY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000652:urine; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000652:urine*; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
D015415:Biomarkers; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D006497:Heparan Sulfate