Effects of 17-β-œstradiol on the Production of Acid Mucopolysaccharides by Cell Cultures of Human Fibroblasts

Abstract

FIBROBLASTS from various tissues of origin have been shown to produce acid mucopolysaccharides (AMPS) in vitro for long periods of time up to several years¹. It has also been pointed out that cultured fibroblasts, regardless of their original derivation, secrete predominantly hyaluronate and only small amounts of sulphated AMPS². Only ‘fibroblasts’ growing from explants of beef embryo cartilage have been found to produce mainly chondroitin sulphate (A and C) in vitro³. This is somewhat at variance with what happens in vivo where different spectra of AMPS typify different tissues⁴. Nevertheless, in spite of lack of qualitative differences in AMPS secreted in vitro, fibroblasts grown from different tissues of origin have been found to produce different amounts of AMPS⁵. The experiments recorded here are intended to show that fibroblasts of different origin produce different amounts of AMPS in vitro in response to œstrogenic stimulation.