The effects of estradiol on acid mucopolysaccharide metabolism in oophorectomized rats

Abstract

Fractions containing hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, heparin, and sulfatide were isolated from skin, intestine, and uterus of estradiol-treated and nontreated oophorectomized rats at various time intervals after the injection of glucose-U-C 14 and sulfate-S 35. A slight inhibition of sulfate uptake and stimulation of glucose uptake into the acid mucopolysaccharides of skin and intestine was observed; however, there were no apparent differences in the biological half-lives of acid mucopolysaccharides between the treated and nontreated animals. On the other hand, there was a marked stimulation of isotopic turnover in the uterine acid mucopolysaccharides of estradiol-treated oophorectomized rats. Surviving uterine segments, taken from rats killed at various time intervals after a single injection of estradiol, were incubated in vitro in the presence of glucose-U-C 14 and sulfate-S 35. After an initial lag period of approximately 6 hours the amounts and specific activities of hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate were markedly stimulated by the estradiol injection. These observations suggest that there is a possible relationship between RNA and AMPS metabolism and that hyaluronic acid is not directly responsible for the estradiol-induced imbibition of water in the rat uterus.