Production of chondroitin sulfate and chondroitin

Abstract

The production of microbial polysaccharides has recently gained much interest because of their potential biotechnological applications. Several pathogenic bacteria are known to produce capsular polysaccharides, which provide a protection barrier towards harsh environmental conditions, and towards host defences in case of invasive infections. These capsules are often composed of glycosaminoglycan-like polymers. Glycosaminoglycans are essential structural components of the mammalian extracellular matrix and they have several applications in the medical, veterinary, pharmaceutical and cosmetic field because of their peculiar properties. Most of the commercially available glycosaminoglycans have so far been extracted from animal sources, and therefore the structural similarity of microbial capsular polysaccharides to these biomolecules makes these bacteria ideal candidates as non-animal sources of glycosaminoglycan-derived products. One example is hyaluronic acid which was formerly extracted from hen crests, but is nowadays produced via Streptococci fermentations. On the other hand, no large scale biotechnological production processes for heparin and chondrotin sulfate have been developed. The larger demand of these biopolymers compared to hyaluronic acid (tons vs kilograms), due to the higher titre in the final product (grams vs milligrams/dose), and the scarce scientific effort have hampered the successful development of fermentative processes. In this paper we present an overview of the diverse applications and production methods of chondroitin reported so far in literature with a specific focus on novel microbial biotechnological approaches.

Isotachophoretic determination of glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate in dietary supplements

“…The isolation process involves extraction using alkaline solutions or enzymes, alcoholic precipitation, recovery of solids by centrifugation and purification (Schiraldi et al 2010). Fish derived CS is currently referred to as the best quality raw material on the market, considering the degree of purity and sulphation pattern.…”

Semi‐Synthesis of Unusual Chondroitin Sulfate Polysaccharides Containing GlcA(3‐O‐sulfate) or GlcA(2,3‐di‐O‐sulfate) Units

“…[12] Among them, Pasteurella multocida type F produces an unsulfated chondroitin polysaccharide, [13] whereas Escherichia coli O5:K4:H4 synthesizes a capsular polysaccharide with a chondroitin backbone with the additional presence of a b-fructose residue linked at the O-3 position of the GlcA units. [14] A fermentation broth of E. coli O5:K4:H4 obtained by a fed-batch process was subjected to microfiltration, protease treatment, diafiltration of the harvested broth, and mild hydrolysis.…”

Glycolysis and Its Metabolic Engineering Applications

“…26 Heparin and heparan sulfate (HS), chondroitin, and chondroitin sulfate are important glycosamino glycan biopolymers commonly used in pharmaceutical applications owing to their anticoagulation, antiinflammatory, anticancer, antimeta static, and antiangiogenic properties. [27][28][29] Instead of extraction from animal tissues, animal polysaccharides like chondroitin and heparosan have also been engineered in microbial hosts. 30 The biosynthetic pathway of heparosan, the precursor of heparin, has been engineered in non pathogenic E. coli BL21 via expression of kfiABCD operon and heparosan was produced with a titer of 1.88 g/L in 3L bioreactor.…”