Keratan sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan with a backbone of alternating galactose and N-acetylglucosamine residues. Unlike hyaluronic acid and many other glycosaminoglycans, its characteristic two-sugar repeat does not contain a uronic acid. Backbone identity and the extent of sulfation are separate structural questions.[ref]
Isolation and partial characterization of keratan sulphate from human brain by I. Eronen and others. Abstract: sulfated galactose–N-acetylglucosamine disaccharide repeat
An ideal backbone segment with 30 complete repeats has 30 galactose residues and 30 N-acetylglucosamine residues, for 60 sugar residues altogether. This count does not fix its number of sulfate groups or the molecular mass of an actual preparation.
A 1985 study isolated a sulfated fraction from human brain and combined chemical analysis with susceptibility to a keratan-sulfate-cleaving enzyme. Agreement between the repeat structure and cleavage behavior supported its identification as keratan sulfate; size measurements also showed heterogeneity. Several different observations make identification stronger than reliance on a sulfated material's charge alone.[ref]
Isolation and partial characterization of keratan sulphate from human brain by I. Eronen and others. Abstract: isolation, gel filtration, repeat structure and endo-beta-galactosidase susceptibility
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