dermatan

Dermatan, more commonly dermatan sulfate (DS), is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan that is part of the extracellular matrix and cell surface proteoglycans. It is one of the chondroitin sulfate family and is historically referred to as chondroitin sulfate B. Dermatan sulfate is especially abundant in skin, blood vessels, heart valves, and tendons, but it is found in many connective tissues. It consists of repeating disaccharide units of iduronic acid and N-acetylgalactosamine, with tissue-dependent sulfation patterns. In DS, iduronic acid residues are often 2-O-sulfated, and N-acetylgalactosamine can bear 4- or 6-O-sulfate groups. The chain is generated by epimerization of some glucuronic acid residues to iduronic acid in the starting chondroitin backbone, followed by sulfation by dermatan sulfate–specific sulfotransferases.

Biologically, dermatan sulfate participates in the organization and properties of the extracellular matrix. It interacts with collagen and elastin, modulates the binding and activity of various growth factors and chemokines, and contributes to tissue hydration and resilience. It can influence cell signaling and matrix remodeling during development, wound repair, and skeletal or vascular maintenance. Dermatan sulfate also has anticoagulant activity, acting in part through enhancement of heparin cofactor II to inhibit thrombin, although its effect is generally weaker than that of heparin.

Clinical and research relevance includes its role in the pathology of lysosomal storage diseases known as mucopolysaccharidoses, where impaired degradation leads to dermatan sulfate accumulation. Dermatan sulfate is used in biomedical research as a component of extracellular-matrix models and, in some contexts, as a source of anticoagulant activity.