Abstract

Sulfated complex carbohydrates in the adrenal medulla were labeled with ³⁵SO₄^- after the administration of insulin to deplete catecholamine stores. Twenty-four hours later the left adrenal gland was perfused in situ with Locke's solution. Addition of acetylcholine to the perfusion solution resulted in a 12-20-fold increase in the release of sulfate-labeled nondialyzable material, together with the usual large increase in catecholamine secretion. Digestion of the sulfate-labeled macromolecular material with bacterial chondroitinases demonstrated that 65-80% of the radioactivity was in the form of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulfate. The remaining radioactivity was present in an N-sulfated mucopolysaccharide which was tentatively identified as heparan sulfate. The results of these experiments are consistent with our previous finding of sulfated mucopolysaccharides, consisting mostly of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulfate, in purified chromaffin granules from bovine adrenal medulla, and are discussed in terms of the possible role of anionic complex carbohydrates in the storage and release of biogenic amines.