Structural diversity of dermatan sulphate in porcine dermis

The structural diversity of dermatan sulphate (DS), the major glycosaminoglycan component of mammalian skin, was investigated by examining different layers of porcine dermal tissue using 1H-NMR and disaccharide compositional analysis by HPLC. Structural reporter signals were assigned using one-dimensional (1D) 1H-NMR differential transient NOE and 1D totally correlated spectroscopy (TOCSY) spectra, measured at different probe temperatures. The results of these studies on 12 sliced layers (average thickness of 250 microns) of skin show that the content of glucuronic acid in DS decreases when moving from the outer surface of the skin to the inside, while the degree of sulfation of the C-2 hydroxy group of iduronate and the C-4 and C-6 hydroxy groups of N-acetylgalactosamine increases with depth. These results suggest that the utility of analysis of DS from various depths in porcine skin clearly show the origin of each sample, and might be useful for the quality control of these biological materials in clinical use.