Effects of dietary manganese on arterial Glycosaminoglycan metabolism in Sprague-Dawley rats

The objectives of this study were to determine whether dietary manganese deficiency alters total glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration and composition and glycosyltransferase activity in rat aortas. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a manganese-deficient or a manganese-sufficient diet. Arterial GAGs were isolated and quantified by measuring uronic acid content. The individual GAGs were separated and quantified with cellulose acetate electrophoresis. The activity of the enzyme galactosyltransferase I was measured using a 100,000 g particulate fraction and 4-methylumbelliferylxyloside (Xyl-MU) as an acceptor. There was a significant decrease (p less than or equal to 0.05) in uronic acid content in the manganese-deficient (1.18 +/- 0.08 mg/g) rat aortas as compared with the manganese-sufficient (1.59 +/- 0.10 mg/g) ones. Chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate concentrations were decreased by 38% (p less than or equal to 0.01) and 36% (p less than or equal to 0.05), respectively, in the manganese-deficient rat aortas. The incorporation of UDP-galactose to accepters by the manganese-deficient rat aorta preparations was increased by 28% as compared to the manganese-sufficient preparations. These results indicate that manganese is involved in arterial GAG metabolism by affecting the enzyme galactosyltransferase and that changes in GAG concentration and composition with manganese deficiency may ultimately affect arterial wall integrity and subsequently cardiovascular health. This is the first work to demonstrate that manganese nutrition is important in arterial GAG metabolism.