Production of mucopolysaccharides by normal and transformed cells

The rate of hyaluronic acid and sulfated mucopolysaccharide production was measured for hamster embryo fibroblasts and for general oncogenic lines derived by virus transformation. A striking increase in both the rate of hyaluronic acid synthesis and the amount of cell-associated polymer was observed after transformation by herpes simplex type-2 or SV40 virus. Although no corresponding change was observed for the sulfated polysaccharides, the proportion of heparan sulfate increased significantly after transformation.