Serglycin mast cells

Heparin is synthesized in connective-tissue type mast cells, as part of the serglycin proteoglycan. HS is produced by most mammalian (and many other) cells and is bound to a variety of core proteins, in particular syndecans, gly-picans, perlecan, and agrin. Following translation in the rough endoplasmic... 

There are quantitative differences in the chemical constitution of heparan sulfate and heparin polysaccharides, but qualitative differences in their biological location and core protein. " Heparin is biosynthesised only in connective tissue mast cells and attached only to a unique protein core (serglycin). The initial polysaccharide chains have a DP (dimer) of 25(T400, but can be cleaved subsequently to give an array of heparin polysaccharides. Heparan sulfate, by contrast, can be synthesised on an array of proteins in various cells, with two major subfamilies of heparan sulfate proteoglycans, the syndecans and glypi-cans, which carry fewer and shorter polysaccharide chains. 

Heparin is predominandy produced by mast cells as part of a proteoglycan (PG), where the GAG chains are covalently attached (O-linked) to a serglycin core protein. After synthesis, the heparin chains are cleaved, and the so obtained disperse mixture of polysaccharides is stored in the cytoplasmic granules of the cells. HS—as well as CS and DS—is also found as O-glycosidic part of PGs, but they can be attached to a variety of different core proteins (e.g., syndecans and glypicans). Almost all mammahan cells biosynthesize such PGs, which can be found as part of cell membranes or as components of the extracellular matrix (Rabenstein, 2002 Silbert Sugumaran, 2002). 

Within the mast cell secretory granule, serglycin binds a large number of basic proteases (tryptases and chymases) and vasoactive amines, especially histamine, which are released upon degranulation of mast cells from a variety of stimuli, including injury, cytokines and immune reactions, especially those involved in IgE-dependent allergic responses (reviewed in [34]). 

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