Glucose incorporation into mucopolysaccharides

Acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose is a component of a mucopolysaccharide hyaluronic acid. It has been demonstrated, by PET imaging with the corresponding F labeled compound, that this glucose derivative is incorporated into the connective tissue at the interface of a tumor and healthy tissue. Thus, it can be used as a tumor label. 6-[ F]-6-Deoxy-L-ascorbic acid also deserves attention, as it maintains the antioxidant properties of ascorbic acid. Thus, it can be useful to smdy the biochemical... 

Both D-glucuronic acid and 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose appear to be incorporated into the mucopolysaccharides through utilization of intact D-glucose, with prior or subsequent oxidation or amination, respectively. This has followed from tracer studies, using D-glucose-6-C" and D-glucose-... 

Whitehouse , and Whitehouse and Bostrom investigated the incorporation of glucose- G, acetate- G and S04 into mucopolysaccharide sulphates, and the oxidation of glucose- G, acetate-pyruvate- C and octanoate- C in cartilage and cornea. The incorporation of the above substances is inhibited by salicylate, phenylbutazone and cinchophen, all of which have an immediate effect on the reaction, and by hydrocortisone and chloroquine which are effective only after a time lag of 1-2 hours. There seems to be some relationship between the inhibition of uptake by non-steroidal compounds and their anti-inflammatory activities. It is concluded that the drugs diminish anabolic reactions in connective tissue by inhibiting fundamental exergonic reactions. 

The possibility that insulin regulates utilization of D-glucose for the synthesis of mucopolysaccharides in the ground substance of connective tissues was explored by Schiller and Dorfman (S3). Incorporation of sodium acetate-C into hyaluronic acid and dermatan sulfate in the skins of alloxan-diabetic rats was found to be approximately one third of that in the skins of either normal or partially fasted animals. These data suggest that synthesis of connective tissue mucopolysaccharides is inhibited in insulin-deficient animals. 

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