Journal of Dental Research, Vol 71, 1587-1593, Copyright © 1992 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Distribution of chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate in normal and inflamed human gingivae
P. M. Bartold
Department of Pathology, University of Adelaide, South Australia.
The effect of inflammation on the distribution of chondroitin sulfate and
dermatan sulfate proteoglycans was assessed after normal and inflamed human
gingivae were stained with monoclonal antibodies against these
extracellular matrix macromolecules. The tissues were obtained following
periodontal surgery and reacted with specific antibodies after
pre-treatment with chondroitinase ACII or chondroitinase ABC, and staining
was visualized by the immunoperoxidase technique. The results indicated
that these two proteoglycans were present in both the 4-sulfated and
6-sulfated isomeric forms. While chondroitin sulfate appeared to be
uniformly distributed throughout the connective tissue, dermatan sulfate
showed greater intensity of staining in the areas immediately subjacent to
the epithelium. Positive staining for chondroitin sulfate was noted in the
intercellular spaces of the epithelium. In inflamed tissues, there was
significant staining associated with 4-sulfated dermatan sulfate and
chondroitin sulfate, but this had lost the structured pattern of staining
noted in normal sections. The 6-sulfated isomeric forms were greatly
reduced in inflamed tissues and tended to show a predilection to be
localized within the perivascular tissues. In the inflamed tissues, there
was intense staining for chondroitin sulfate associated with the
infiltrating inflammatory cells. These findings corroborate earlier
biochemical studies on normal and inflamed gingival tissues. The specific
tissue localization of dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate in tissues
damaged by inflammation indicates that, as opposed to the large loss of
collagenous material noted during inflammation, there is not a
corresponding large loss of proteoglycan. Indeed, at specific inflammatory
foci, the intensity of staining for these macromolecules may intensify.
