Pharmacological properties of rhamnose-rich polysaccharides, potential interest in age-dependent alterations of connectives tissues.

Rhamnose-rich oligo- and polysaccharides (RROPs) were tested for their potential pharmacological properties using human skin fibroblasts in serial cultures. The substances tested were shown to stimulate cell proliferation, decrease elastase-type activity, stimulate collagen biosynthesis, and protect hyaluronan against free radical mediated degradation. These reactions appear to be triggered by the mediation of a specific alpha-L-rhamnose recognizing lectin-site acting as a receptor, transmitting signals to the cell-interior. The rapid increase of intracellular free calcium after addition of RROP-1 and preliminary data using micro arrays appear also to confirm this contention.