Aggrecan from bovine articular cartilage

Aggrecan is a critical component for cartilage structure and the function of joints. Its synthesis and degradation are being studied for their roles in cartilage deterioration during joint injury disease and aging.

This molecule produces a rigid, reversibly deformable gel that resists compression. It combines with hyaluronic acid to form very large macromolecular complexes that have an increased hydrohynamic volume and a significant increase (30-40%) in the relative viscosity of the solution.

This product is extracted from articular cartilage, chematographically purified, dialyzed against water, and 0.2 μm filtered prior to lyophilization. Once lyophilized, this powder is essentially salt-free. The product is soluble in water at 2 mg/mL.

Aggrecan is a major structural proteoglycan of the cartilage extracellular matrix. It is a large proteoglycan, with a molecular weight greater than 2,500 kDa composed of approximately 100-150 glycosaminoglycan chains attached to a core protein. The majority of these glycosaminoglycan chains are chondroitin/dermatan sulfate. Aggrecan contains three globular domains, G1, G2, and G3, which are involved in aggregation and hylauronan binding, cell adhesion and chondrycte apoptosis.

Store this product at -20°C. Stored as supplied, this powder shows little decomposition in 3 years when stored properly.