Effect of glycosaminoglycans on the growth of cultured tumor cells.

The effect of various glycosaminoglycans on the growth of cultured Tawa sarcoma cells (CTS cells) were determined under both fast and slow growth conditions. Hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, chondroitin 4-sulfate, and chondroitin 6-sulfate (all of which have only one type of uronic acid, glucuronic acid) inhibited the growth of CTS cells during fast growth and accelerated it during slow growth. Both keratan sulfate and keratan polysulfate (containing galactose) inhibited the growth of CTS cells during both growth conditions. Only glycosaminoglycans containing iduronic acid (heparin, heparan sulfate, and dermatan sulfate) accelerated the growth of the cells during fast growth. However, heparin inhibited the growth during slow growth while heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate accelerated it. Growth regulation seems to require complete structural integrity of the glycosaminoglycans. The component subunits alone lack such activity when not linked together.