Biochemical characterization of hyaluronic acid from a case of benign, localized, pleural mesothelioma.

The tissue of a benign, localized, pleural mesothelioma was digested with protease, and the crude polysaccharide was fractionated by a column of Dowex-1 (Cl-form). The eluate from the column was electrophoresed and incubated with various mucopolysaccharide lysases. Based on the results of column chromatography, electrophoresis, and enzymatic digestion, it was found that hyaluronic acid was the major constituent of the glycosaminoglycans in pleural mesothelioma. The hyaluronic acid from pleural mesothelioma seemed to be identical in structure with that from human umbilical cord; however, the hyaluronic acid from mesothelioma was eluted before that from human umbilical cord when fractionated by the column of Sepharose 4B, suggesting a differnence in molecular size between the two. Also, evidence was obtained for the presence of dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate.