Study of the effect of oestradiol on hexosamine-containing substances and a possible receptor in the skin of male mice.

Male mice were treated with 10 microng of oestradiol for 5 days in order to study the effect of the hormone on both the distribution and the rate of synthesis of glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins in the skin. Oestradiol exerts a very specific effect on glycosaminoglycans by increasing hyaluronic acid concentration more than 11 times. Effects on other hexosamine-containing substances were much smaller and less consistent. Although the above increase of hyaluronic acid was due mainly to an augmentation of its synthesis, the results also indicate the possibility of a blockage in the breakdown process. Despite the fact that oestrogen produces such large changes, a specific cytosol receptor of the hormone was not discerned and it was concluded that male mouse skin is not an oestrogen receptor tissue in the classical sense.