title: Differential gene expression of multiple chondroitin sulfate modification enzymes among neural stem cells, neurons and astrocytes.
abstract: Chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) polysaccharides have been reported to play a crucial role in the proliferation and maintenance of neural stem cells (NSCs). However, little is known about the structural changes and functional role of CS/DS chains in the differentiation of NSCs. Western blots of NSCs, neurons and astrocytes in culture, with three CS-polysaccharide antibodies of different specificities, revealed marked differences in CS structure among the three cell types. To confirm this finding, we measured gene expression levels of CS sulfotransferases and C5-epimerase in these cell types, as these are responsible for producing the high structural diversity of CS/DS. Expressions of chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferase, chondroitin 6-O-sulfotransferase, and N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase mRNAs were low in cultures of differentiated neural cells, such as neurons and astrocytes, in comparison to NSCs. In contrast, expressions of uronyl 2-O-sulfotransferase and C5-epimerase mRNAs were higher in the differentiated neural cells than NSCs. Thus, we first provide evidence to support the hypothesis that CS/DS undergoes structural changes during NSC differentiation. The structural changes in CS/DS may be implicated in the regulation of NSC differentiation through interactions with growth/neurotrophic factors and cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, 880 Kita-kobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi 321-0293, Japan. shinobu@dokkyomed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shinobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurosu
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hitosugi
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Atsuhiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oohira
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tokudome
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000235:genetics*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: C069524:dermatan sulfate chondroitin sulfate; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates