Isolation from Cell Cultures and Tissues 5
boiling water, to avoid flushing. A convenient concentration of gel (50% slurry) can be
made by mixing 5 g of Sephadex G-50 with 100 mL of water. Bacteriostatic agents (e.g.,
0.02% Na azide) should be added for long-term storage.
2. 10 mL plastic disposable pipet (Falcon).
3. Glass wool, #3950 (Corning).
4. Buffer: 8 M urea, 0.20 M NaCl, 0.05 M Na acetate, 0.5% Triton X-100, pH 6.0.
2.3. Anion-Exchange Chromatography
1. Q-Sepharose, fast flow (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech). Q-Sepharose has to be
preequilibrated with the low salt buffer as described below.
2. Low salt buffer: 8 M urea, 0.20 M NaCl, 0.05 M Na acetate, 0.5% Triton X-100, pH 6.0.
3. High salt buffer: 8 M urea, 1.5 M NaCl, 0.05 M Na acetate, 0.5% Triton X-100, pH 6.0.
4. Gradient former (a simple configuration can be made with two beakers).
5. Peristaltic pump.
2.4. Gel Filtration Chromatography
1. Superose 6, HR 10/30 (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech).
2. Buffer: 4 M guanidine HCl, 0.05 M Na acetate, 0.5% (w/v) Triton X-100, pH 6.0.
3. Methods
General experimental procedures introducing radioactive precursors into
proteoglycans using cell cultures and tissue cultures are reviewed elsewhere (1).
3.1. Extraction
1. After removing media from the cell layer, approximately 2 mL of extraction buffer (per
35-mm-diameter cell culture dish) is added to a culture plate (see Note 1).
2. Proteoglycans are extracted within 2–3 h of constant shaking at 4°C.
3. Passing the extract through a 1-mL pipet tip up and down approximately 10 times reduces
the viscosity of the solution caused by DNA.
4. Extraction of proteoglycans from tissues: As used originally in the extraction of
proteoglycan from cartilage tissue (3), 4 M guanidine generally provides excellent solu-
bilization of proteoglycans.
5. When tissues are to be extracted, ordinarily approximately 10 times volume of 4 M guanidine
HCl buffer successfully solubilizes proteoglycans from finely minced tissues in 12 h at 4°C.
6. Additional consideration should be made when extraction of cell-associated proteoglycans
is attempted; i.e., inclusion of sufficient amounts of detergent may be necessary (such as 2%
Triton X-100) for the solubilization of proteoglycans (5).
7. Secreted proteoglycans in cell culture media are generally already soluble, but, in order to
minimize interactions between highly charged proteoglycans and other molecules, direct
addition of solid guanidine HCl (0.53 g of solid guanidine HCl per milliliter of media makes
4 M guanidine HCl solution) is frequently used.
3.2. Solvent Exchange
1. In order to prepare the extracted proteoglycans in 4 M guanidine HCl for the anion-
exchange chromatography procedure in the next step, guanidine HCl has to be replaced
with a solvent compatible with the procedure.
2. A preferred solvent is a urea buffer, since it disrupts molecular interactions by interfering
with the formation of hydrogen bonds.
3. A convenient buffer-exchange procedure can be done by gel filtration (such as Sephadex
G-50 chromatography) using a small disposable pipet. This process is also very conve-