Proteoglycan and collagen in porcine gingivae

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Abstract
The sequential extractability of uronic acid containing macromolecules, proteoglycans (mucopolysaccharides), from pig gingivae under associative and dissociative aqueous conditions has been investigated. Some of the macromolecular material thus extracted formed highly insoluble precipitates following dialysis against 0.1 M‐sodium acetate. Both soluble and insoluble fractions from associative and dissociative extraction regimes were assayed for uronic acid. The residual glycosaminoglycan in the tissue was assayed following papain digestion of the tissue. The limitation of assay reproducibility for various sized source tissue indicates that at least 100 mg dry weight of gingivae is required. When epithelium was removed from the underlying gingival connective tissue, the reproducibility of hydroxyproline estimation was improved. These data emphasize that the epithelium contributes an uncontrollable variable to the basic dry weights of gingivae as a whole against which such measurements as collagen content may be assessed. Furthermore, the data generated from sequential extraction of macromolecular uronates from pig gingivae indicated that there was less susceptibility of intercellular material to dissolution under associative conditions than previously reported for human gingivae. This resistance to salt extraction implies a greater degree of macromolecular organization. In consequence, the different macromolecular structure of the pig gingival intercellular matrix may be less susceptible to degradative processes, a suggestion which is supported by the low incidence of periodontal inflammation observed in these pigs.