Macromolecular basis of globular protein exclusion and of swelling pressure in loose connective tissue (umbilical cord)

Abstract

The macromolecular basis of tissue swelling pressure and of the ability of tissue to exclude globular proteins, according to size, have been investigated using human umbilical cord. Exclusion data of tissue, and tissue from which the polysaccharides had been removed by hyaluronidase were compared. Exclusion of globular proteins by the polysaccharides, obtained by difference from the two sets of data, was similar to that reported for isolated polysaccharides in solution. It can be described by a sphere/cylinder geometric exclusion model. The exclusion behavior of the polysaccharide-free tissue was accounted for in terms of the component collagen fibrils, glycoprotein microfibrils and cells. Average pore diameters of 18 and 110 nm, respectively, for the intact tissue and for the polysaccharide-free tissue were estimated. Swelling pressure measurements were performed on intact, on hyaluronidase-treated and on hyaluronidase and then Pronase-treated tissues to obtain the contributions of the polysaccharides, of collagen and of microfibrils. Close to the in vivo volume of tissue, the swelling pressure is given almost entirely by the polysaccharides and is consistent with the osmotic pressure expected from the relative amounts of hyaluronic acid and proteoglycan present and their distribution in the extrafibrillar, extracellular space. Upon swelling or deswelling a small net contribution of the fibrillar system to the swelling pressure is evident.