Anti-Coagulant and Immunomodulating Activity of Glycosaminoglycans from Porcine Cartilage in Mice

Foot cartilage of pig has been used as a traditional food material for enhancement of health. To investigate various effects of foot cartilage of pig, Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) of porcine cartilage were isolated through anion exchange chromatography (DOWEX macroporous resin) and composition of GAGs was analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). From the anion exchange chromatography, we obtained two types of GAGs, P-3 and P-16 that were eluted by 3% and 16% sodium chloride concentration respectively. The anticoagulant activity of the GAGs isolate from foot cartilage was investigated by activated partial thromboplastin times (APTT) assay. P-16, but not P-3, showed a prolonged activity of the clotting time, and its anticoagulant activity was dose-dependent. In immunomodulating activity analysis, P-3 as well as P-16 markedly suppressed the growth of murine splenocytes stimulated by concanavalin-A (ConA) or lipopoly-saccharide (LPS). Interestingly, both of P-3 and P-16 significantly enhanced the growth of normal peritoneal macrophages, but only P-3, but not P-16, had a weak effect on the growth of LPS-treated macrophages. However, these two porcine GAGs did not show any significant inhibition of cytokine production from mitogen-stimulated splenocytes and macrophages. An chromatographic assay using SAX-HPLC column revealed that the main fraction of P-16 was Di-4S. These results suggest that GAGs of porcine cartilage possess biological activities such as anticoagulant and immunomodulating activity.