The Use of Lectins in Combination with Enzymatic Digestion for the Study of Glycoconjugates in Cartilage

Cartilage is a highly specialized connective tissue that consists of cells embedded within an abundant extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix of articular cartilage is composed of several types of collagens, proteoglycans, glycoproteins, noncollagenous proteins, polysaccharides, and water (for review, see refs. 1 and 2 ). Besides type II collagen as a major constituent, the predominant proteoglycan of cartilage tissue is the large aggregating proteoglycan (aggrecan) consisting of a core protein to which glycosaminoglycans and N - as well as O -linked oligosaccharides are attached. This proteoglycan is able to form specific aggregates with hyaluronic acid and link protein.