Abstract
THE highly viscous cement or matrix of connective tissue consists of proteins and mucopolysaccharides, the latter containing hyaluronic acid (or acids)1. The viscosity of the matrix can be reduced by hyaluronidase (the spreading factor)2 almost to that of water by depolymerization and hydrolysis of hyaluronic acid. McClean3 showed that testicular extract containing the spreading factor allowed a more extensive spread of indian ink when injected into the dermis than did Ringer's solution. The extract produced a “swelling and splitting” of collagen fibres due to increased permeability of the fibre bundles rather than to any change in the collagen itself. Robb-Smith4 also found that testicular hyaluronidase brought about separation of the reticulin network from muscle fibres, but had no histologically demonstrable effect on other parts of the fibre or its nuclei.
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References
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SCOTT, P. Use of Hyaluronidase in Microtechnique. Nature 166, 479 (1950). https://doi.org/10.1038/166479a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/166479a0
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