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PMID: 15489305 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Extended, relaxed, and condensed conformations of hyaluronan observed by atomic force microscopy.

Biophysical journal ·Vol. 88 ·No. 1 ·2005-01-00 ·Pages 590-602

Cowman MK, Spagnoli C, Kudasheva D, Li M, Dyal A, Kanai S, Balazs EA

Abstract

The conformation of the polysaccharide hyaluronan (HA) has been investigated by tapping mode atomic force microscopy in air. HA deposited on a prehydrated mica surface favored an extended conformation, attributed to molecular combing and inhibition of subsequent chain recoil by adhesion to the structured water layer covering the surface. HA deposited on freshly cleaved mica served as a defect in a partially structured water layer, and favored relaxed, weakly helical, coiled conformations. Intramolecularly condensed forms of HA were also observed, ranging from pearl necklace forms to thick rods. The condensation is attributed to weak adhesion to the mica surface, counterion-mediated attractive electrostatic interactions between polyelectrolytes, and hydration effects. Intermolecular association of both extended and condensed forms of HA was observed to result in the formation of networks and twisted fibers, in which the chain direction is not necessarily parallel to the fiber direction. Whereas the relaxed coil and partially condensed conformations of HA are relevant to the native structure of liquid connective tissues, fully condensed rods may be more relevant for HA tethered to a cell surface or intracellular HA, and fibrous forms may be relevant for HA subjected to shear flow in tight intercellular spaces or in protein-HA complexes.

MeSH Terms
Aluminum Silicates/chemistry Bacterial Proteins/chemistry Carbohydrate Conformation Electrochemistry Electrolytes Hyaluronic Acid/chemistry Microscopy, Atomic Force/methods Microscopy, Scanning Probe Molecular Conformation Molecular Structure Water/chemistry
Chemicals
Aluminum Silicates Bacterial Proteins Electrolytes Water Hyaluronic Acid mica
Authors & Affiliations
7 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Cowman Mary K
Othmer Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences and Engineering, Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, New York 11201, USA. mcowman@poly.edu
Spagnoli Chiara
Kudasheva Dina
Li Min
Dyal Ansil
Kanai Sonoko
Balazs Endre A
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Article Info
Journal
Biophysical journal
Abbr.
Biophys J
ISSN
0006-3495
DOI
10.1529/biophysj.104.049361
Email
mcowman@poly.edu
Published
2005-01-00
Epub
2004-00-15
Pages
590-602
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
0370626
PMCID
PMC1305036
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1529/biophysj.104.049361 PMC Full Text View journal details
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