Cortisol effects on the glycosaminoglycan synthesis and molecular weight distribution in vitro

Abstract

The effect of cortisol at different concentrations on the incorporation rate of [ 3H]glucosamine and [ 35S]sulphate into glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in human fibroblast culture medium was studied. The mol. wt distribution of the synthesized GAGs was determined by Sepharose 2B chromatography. Two sensitivity levels of GAGs to cortisol were observed: at a low cortisol concentration ( 1 × 10 −7 M) only the hyaluronic acid synthesis decreased and no changes were observed in the synthesis of sulphated GAGs or glycoproteins. At a high steroid concentration (1 × 10 −3 M) both the synthesis of hyaluronic acid and sulphated GAGs drastically decreased. The mol. wt distribution of medium GAGs did not change at cortisol concentrations 1 × 10 −9 M-1 × 10 −5 M. The possible role of cortisol in the metabolism of hyaluronic acid in vivo is discussed.