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The importance of chondroitin sulfate in the bladder wall GAG layer
Chondroitin sulfate is an acidic mucopolysaccharide and is one of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Its repeating disaccharide unit is made up of two simple sugars, namely a glucuronic acid and a galactosamine with one negatively charged hydrophilic sulfate group.
The luminal surface of the bladder is coated with a layer of GAGs that provide the bladder with a protective, impermeable barrier. This surface GAG layer mainly consists of chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfates and heparan sulfates.10,11 As a result of the previously mentioned negative electric charge, GAGs on the bladder surface will attract water molecules from the urine and bind them tightly to these sulphur molecules. This creates a highly hydrophilic environment, greatly contributing to the protective impermeability function of the bladder wall.6,12 The GAG layer may also reduce the concentration of solutes in the urine, and exclude large molecules from the vicinity of the bladder wall.7
Experimental evidence suggests that Uracyst coats the damaged bladder wall with chondroitin sulfate and helps to re-establish the first-line of defence against urine.4,13