The acid mucopolysaccharides of the sexual skin of apes and monkeys

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Abstract
An examination was made of the "mucoprotein" present in the exudates of edematous sexual skins of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), pig-tail monkeys (Macaca nemestrina) and baboons (Papio papio). The mucoprotein was susceptible to the action of both testicular and streptococcal hyaluronidase and, when partially purified, contained considerable amounts of protein together with glucosamine and a hexuronic acid (presumed to be glucuronic acid) in approximately equimolar amounts. The partially purified material contained no detectable sulphate. From these observations and behavior on paper electrophoresis it was concluded that the mucopolysaccharide in sexual-skin exudates was hyaluronic acid and that chondrotin sulfhate was not present. Determinations were made of the hyaluronic acid and chondrotin sulfhate concentrations in sexual skin during the swelling and collapsing stages. There were considerable species differences in amounts, but in all 3 species swelling was accompanied by considerably increased hyaluronic acid concentration and decreased chondrotin sulfhate concentration (expressed on a wet-weight basis). It was apparent that the swelling of sexual skin was accompanied by a vast increase in the absolute amount of hyaluronic acid in the tissue and calculations on a dry-weight basis revealed that the total amount of chondroitin sulphate increased slightly during the sexual-skin swelling. Calculation, and extraction experiments, revealed that a considerable proportion of the hyaluronic acid of swollen sexual skin is not contained in the exudate. Significant relationships were found to exist in all species between the total hyaluronic acid content of sexual skins and their water content. Viscosity measurements did not reveal any evidence of any consistent changes in the degree of polymerization of the exudate hyaluronic acid during the sexual-skin cycle or reveal any relationship of degree of polymerization to hyaluronate concentration in the exudate. The relationship of the changes in hyaluronic acid concentration to the edema formation is discussed.