Glycosaminoglycans inhibit neurodegenerative effects of serum amyloid P component in vitro.

Serum amyloid P component, a member of pentraxin serum protein family, has been suggested to contribute to the progression of neurodegeneration including Alzheimer's disease by binding to beta-amyloid fibrils leading to an increased stability of the deposits against proteolytic degradation and by inducing neuronal apoptosis. Here, we show that glycosaminoglycans inhibit both the serum amyloid P component-beta-amyloid interaction and the neurotoxic effect of serum amyloid P component. These effects correlate with the structure of glycosaminoglycans and show different structure-activity relationship in the case of the two different effects.

Effect of different metal ions on the oxidative damage and antioxidant capacity of hyaluronic acid.

Degradation and the antioxidative effect of Na-, Zn-, Co-, Cu-, and Mn-hyaluronic acid (HA) associates were studied. Our findings revealed the protective effect of certain counterions against ROS-induced HA degradation. We could also separate the antioxidative effect of certain counterions from that of the HA by examining the effect of the counterions in their free ionic forms.

[Zinc-hyaluronate: ana original organotherapeutic compound of Gedeon Richter Ltd].

Manufacturing of organotherapeutic products is the most long-standing activity of Gedeon Richter Ltd dating back to the establishment of the company in 1901. By the 1940s the company had manufactured and marketed about one hundred preparations containing tissue extracts from animals. As a result of the development of synthetic molecules, organic therapy fell into the background after World War II.