Dermatan sulfate formation in gastrulae of the sea urchin Clypeaster japonicus.

Gastrullation of sea urchin embryos is arrested in sulfate-free sea water. This developmental arrest has been considered to be due to lack of sulfation of glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular matrix of the embryos. In the present study, we characterized a dermatan sulfate type component formed in gastrula-stage embryos of the sea urchin Clypeaster japonicus and examined the effects of sulfate deprivation on the formation. Glycosamino-glycans were prepared from gastrula-stage embryos incubated with [3H]acetate in normal and sulfate-free sea water. Enzymatic analyses indicated that embryos formed a glycosaminoglycan of the dermatan sulfate type which contained an N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate-containing disaccharide as a major unit, plus a minor unidentified component. Under sulfate-free conditions, embryos formed an under-sulfated chondroitin/dermatan sulfate copolymer which mainly consisted of non-sulfate, glucuronic acid-containing (chondroitin) disaccharide units. These results suggest that sulfate deprivation diminishes not only the degree of sulfation but also the formation of L-iduronic acid-containing (dermatan) disaccharide units in dermatan sulfate in sea urchin embryos.