Hyaluronan Isolation from Mouse Mammary Gland

Cornelia Tolg; Mary Cowman; Eva A Turley

doi:10.21769/BioProtoc.2865

Hyaluronan Isolation from Mouse Mammary Gland

Bio Protoc. 2018 Jun 5;8(11):e2865. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.2865.

Authors

Cornelia Tolg¹, Mary Cowman², Eva A Turley^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ London Regional Cancer Program, London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Hospital, London ON, Canada.
² Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Biomatrix Research Center, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
³ Depts. Oncology, Biochemistry, Surgery, Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London ON, Canada.

Abstract

The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) is a key component of the extracellular matrix. The molecular weight of HA is heterogeneous and can reach from several million to several hundred daltons. The effect of HA on cell behavior is size dependent; fragmented HA acts as a danger signal, stimulates cell migration and proliferation and is proinflammatory, native high molecular weight HA suppresses inflammation. Therefore, it is important to analyze HA size distribution when studying the role of HA in tissue homeostasis and pathology. This protocol describes isolation of HA from mouse mammary glands but can also be applied to other tissues. The quality of the isolated HA is sufficient to analyze size distribution by gel electrophoresis ( Calabro et al., 2000 ).

Keywords: Extracellular matrix; Hyaluronan; Ion exchange fractionation; Mammary gland; Size distribution.