Hyaluronic acid-proteoglycan complex

The above results suggest intimate association of proteins and proteoglycans in desmosomes and in surface coats of cells. A possible example of this kind of association is provided by studies of films made with various proportions of protein and proteoglycan. Mixtures of 2 parts gelatin and 1 part hyaluronic acid are much more resistant to diflFusion of various substances than other combinations of these ingredients (40). Perhaps intercellular discs represent mechanically dense and viscid complexes of similar nature. The disappearance of desmosomal components into reconstituted intercellular cement suggests that they have similar chemical components but different stoichiometry. 

Figure 6.6 Chemical composition of the dermatan sulfate and structure of aggregan complexes, (a) Chemical structure of repeated disaccharide of the GAG dermatan sulfate (protons are not indicated in this schematic diagram), (b) Schematic diagram of the aggregan proteoglycan complex showing the relationship between the core and linker proteins, GAGs, and hyaluronic acid).

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