Roles of glycoprotein glycosylation in the pathogenesis and effectiveness evaluation of the sodium hyaluronate treatment of an endemic osteoarthritis Kashin-Beck disease.

We aimed to explore the roles of glycoproteins glycosylation in the pathogenesis of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and evaluated the effectiveness of sodium hyaluronate treatment.Blood and saliva were collected from KBD patients before and after the injection of sodium hyaluronate. Normal healthy subjects were included as controls. Saliva and serum lectin microarrays and saliva and serum microarray verifications were used to screen and confirm the differences in lectin levels among the three groups.In saliva lectin microarray, bindings to Sophora Japonica Agglutinin (SJA), Griffonia (Bandeiraea) Simplicifolia Lectin I (GSL-I), Griffonia (Bandeiraea) Simplicifolia Lectin I (EEL), Maackia Amurensis Lectin II (MAL-II), Sambucus Nigra Lectin (SNA), Hippeastrum Hybrid Lectin (HHL) and Aleuria Aurantia Lectin (AAL) were higher in the untreated KBD patients than in the control group. Increased levels for HHL, MAL-II and GSL-I in the untreated KBD patients discriminated them in particular from the treated ones. Jacalin was lower in the untreated KBD patients compared to the treated KBD and the normal groups. In serum lectin microarray, HHL and Peanut Agglutinin (PNA) were increased in the untreated KBD group in comparison to the control one. AAL, Phaseolus vulgaris Agglutinin(E+L) (PHA-E+L) and PsophocarpusTetragonolobus Lectin I (PTL-I) were lower in the untreated KBD patients compared to the treated KBD and the normal groups. Hyaluronate treatment appeared to normalize SNA, AAL and MAL-II levels in saliva, and HHL, PNA, AAL, PTL-I and PHA-E+L levels in serum. Saliva reversed microarray verification confirmed significant differences between groups in SNA and Jacalin, in particular, GSL-I levels, while serum reversed microarray verification indicated that HHL, PNA and AAL levels returned to normal level after the hyaluronate treatment. Lectin blot confirmed significant differences in HHL, AAL and Jaclin in saliva, and HHL, PNA, PHA-E+L and AAL in serum.HHL in saliva and serum may be valuable diagnostic biomarker of KBD, and it may be used to follow-up of the hyaluronate treatment.