Degradation of deoxyribonucleic acid by guinea pig epidermal extracts.

The capability of guinea pig epidermal extracts to hydrolyze deoxyribonucleic acid has been studied. The results of investigation by gel filtration on Sephadex G-75 column and by viscometry on the mode of hydrolysis of deoxyribonucleic acid by epidermal extracts revealed that deoxyribonucleic acid was degraded by both endonuclease and exonuclease activities. The exhaustive digestion by epidermal extracts yielded the complete degradation of deoxyribonucleic acid to mononucleosides or further metabolites. The enzyme systems involved in the deoxyribonucleic acid degradation include at least an endonuclease, an exonuclease and a phosphatase.