Glycosaminoglycan synthesis by rat fibroblast monolayers: effects of serum and solubilized bone matrix fractions

Glycosaminoglycan synthesis by fibroblasts, from skeletal muscle of the neonatal rat, is stimulated by a bone matrix preparation, soluble in isotonic medium, obtained by extracting decalcified rat bone with 4 M guanidine HCl. The stimulation in glycosaminoglycan synthesis is dependent on the presence of serum in the culture, but the stimulatory effect can be clearly distinguished from that of serum. The stimulatory activity in the bone matrix has been fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography and coelutes largely with anionic, non-collagenous matrix glycoproteins.