title: Heparan sulfate differences in rheumatoid arthritis versus healthy sera.
abstract: Heparan sulfate (HS) is a complex and highly variable polysaccharide, expressed ubiquitously on the cell surface as HS proteoglycans (HSPGs), and found in the extracellular matrix as free HS fragments. Its heterogeneity due to various acetylation and sulfation patterns endows a multitude of functions. In animal tissues, HS interacts with a wide range of proteins to mediate numerous biological activities; given its multiple roles in inflammation processes, characterization of HS in human serum has significant potential for elucidating disease mechanisms. Historically, investigation of HS was limited by its low concentration in human serum, together with the complexity of the serum matrix. In this study, we used a modified mass spectrometry method to examine HS disaccharide profiles in the serum of 50 women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and compared our results to 51 sera from healthy women. Using various purification methods and online LC-MS/MS, we discovered statistically significant differences in the sulfation and acetylation patterns between populations. Since early diagnosis of RA is considered important in decelerating the disease's progression, identification of specific biomolecule characterizations may provide crucial information towards developing new therapies for suppressing the disease in its early stages. This is the first report of potential glycosaminoglycan biomarkers for RA found in human sera, while acknowledging the obvious fact that a larger population set, and more stringent collection parameters, will need to be investigated in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Jenny K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Sabol
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Immunology Section. Hospital Universitario Marques de Valdecilla-IDIVAL, Santander 39008, SPAIN.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López-Hoyos
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Youjin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Armann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.|Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Leary
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000097:blood; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012372:ROC Curve; D044967:Serum / Q000737:chemistry*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004187:Disaccharides; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D006497:Heparan Sulfate
keywords: 2-O-sulfotransferase; 6-O-sulfotransferase; Glycosaminoglycan; Heparan sulfate; Rheumatoid arthritis