Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum (PXE): Ultrastructural and Biochemical Study on Proteoglycan and Proteoglycan-Associated Material Produced by Skin Fibroblasts In Vitro

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum is a genetic disease characterized by progressive mineralization of elastic fibers. Previous studies suggested that other components, apart from elastin, might be involved in the alterations of this connective tissue disorder (Martinez-Hernandez and Huf f er, 1974; Pasquali Ronchetti et al., 1981; 1986). Evidence is presented that proteoglycan metabolism is altered in PXE-affected patient. Urinary GAGs suggests an increased degradation of glucosamine-containing GAGs in the patient. Pulse and chase experiments on in vitro skin fibroblasts indicated a decreased rate of synthesis of ³⁵SO₄ containing GAGs or an increase of their turnover rate in PXE. Moreover, when PGs produced from skin fibroblasts were identified by ultracentrifugation and gel filtration in associative conditions, PXE fibroblasts produced a significantly higher amount of the high molecular weight fraction of sulfated PGs. This high molecular weight material was present both in the medium and in the matrix and disappeared under dissociative conditions or after treatment with hyaluronidase or with pancreas elastase. By electron microscopy, PXE fibroblasts appeared to produce and secrete an enormous amount of toluidine blue 0 positive material organized as filaments and amorphous masses. These data are in agreement with previous observations of the presence of abnormal masses of microfilaments, in the dermis of PXE patients, which were sensitive to hyaluronidase and partially to trypsin and elastase (Pasquali Ronchetti et al., 1986). The results seem to confirm that at least some of the alterations of connective tissues in PXE are due to abnormal PGs metabolism and to their tendency to form abnormal aggregates in the extracellular space.