Glycosaminoglycan content in the lung of the tight-skin mouse

Morphologic and physiologic pulmonary changes have been described in the tight-skin (TSK) mouse, but no biochemical studies have been done. We performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) on lungs of the TSK mouse. Total GAG were determined by cetylpyridinium chloride precipitation in whole lung specimens from TSK mice and normal (N) mice of different age groups: 1, 6, and 12 months old. There was no significant difference in total GAG, GAG concentration, or dry lung weight between TSK and N mice in any of the 3 age groups. In addition, fractionation of the GAG by electrophoresis revealed similar amounts of individual GAG (predominantly dermatan sulfate and heparin) in TSK and N mice within each age group. Therefore, structural abnormalities in the TSK mouse lung were not demonstrated to be due to qualitative or quantitative changes in GAG.