Glycosaminoglycans in normal and atherosclerotic human coronary arteries

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were studied in normal and atherosclerotic coronary arteries of 15- to 60-year-old Finnish men who had died accidentally. The GAGs were fractionated and quantified with electrophoretic techniques. The contents of sulfated GAGs (micrograms/cm2 vessel surface area) increased continuously until 20 to 30% of the vessel surface area was covered with fibrous plaques, after which they started to decrease. The largest increases were seen in chondroitin sulfates A and C and dermatan sulfate, the former of which rose earlier with lesion development. In normal coronary arteries the contents of dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfates A and C increased significantly with age, but the rises were much smaller than those found in affected vessels. The age-related changes in the percentage composition of GAGs in normal coronaries were qualitatively similar to those found in affected coronaries during lesion development. The alterations in arterial GAGs, therefore, seem to be related to two processes, both of which involve increased formation of connective tissue components by arterial smooth muscle cells: the normal growth and maturation of the vessels with a slow development of diffuse intimal thickening, and atherogenesis, which greatly increases the contents of sulfated GAGs in affected arteries.