Biosynthesis of rat growth plate proteoglycans in diabetes and malnutrition

Insulin is an important growth factor in man and mammals. In the present investigation, we have studied the incorporation of (35S)-sulfate into growth plate proteoglycans in normal, diabetic, insulin-treated diabetic, and marasmic rats. We found that diabetes leads to an all-but-total stop in the synthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycans. The glycosaminoglycan chains actually synthesized were shorter than in normal rats. The proteoglycan monomers were smaller and did not form large aggregates in vitro. Marasmic rats and insulin-treated diabetic rats were intermediate between normal and diabetic rats with respect to sulfate uptake by cartilage, incorporation of cartilage sulfate into glycosaminoglycans, and the chain length of glycosaminoglycans. We conclude that insulin and nutrition play important but different roles in the biosynthesis of growth plate proteoglycans and thus for the longitudinal growth of skeletal bones.