Increase of dermatan sulfate in a case of pulmonary fibrosis

The quantity and composition of acid glycosaminoglycans (mucopolysaccharides) were compared between a fibrotic lung and normal lungs. The acid glycosaminoglycans were isolated by proteolysis, fractionation with ethanol and precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride, and were identified by chromatography, electrophoresis and incubation with mucopolysaccharide-lyases. Evidence was obtained for the presence of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate A(C), dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate. Quantitation of individual glycosaminoglycans by using specific mucopolysaccharide-lyases revealed that the quantity of dermatan sulfate in the fibrotic lung exceeded that in the normal lungs.