AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN RENAL CONNECTIVE TISSUE OF RATS

Quantitative determinations of acid mucopolysaccharides and of hydroxyproline were carried out in dry defatted kidney tissue of rats belonging to various age groups ranging from 1 day to one year and a half. It was found that the concentrations of both AMPS and hydroxyproline, which is a measure of total collagen, increased with age up to the 8th month of age. During this period the AMPS/hydroxyproline ratio also increased with age. In the older group consisting of 12-month-old rats the AMPS concentration was lower whereas that of hydroxyproline was higher in comparison to the previous group. In the older groups thereafter the AMPS remained relatively constant while hydroxyproline continued to rise considerably. The physiologic significance of these changes was discussed especially in relation to the specific properties and possible functions of these elements of the renal connective tissue. © 1969 S. Karger AG, Basel.