[Age dependence of the early reaction in glycosaminoglycan metabolism of the rat liver on damage following a single dose of thioacetamide].

Wistar rats aged 7 or 22 months resp. were treated with 50 mg/kg of thioacetamide (TAA) i.p. The TAA-treated animals as well as control groups of the same ages and containing the same number of animals were injected i.p. with 3H-glucosamine (0.2 microCi/g body weight) 2 hours before sacrifice. Previously to sacrifice, the livers had been perfused in narcosis with NaCl (0.9%). Following degradation of the tissue by pronase, specimen of the substances precipitable by ethanol were digested with chondroitinases, streptomyces-hyaluronidase, keratanase, and nitrite. The quantities of substances were estimated photometrically using Alcian blue; radiometry was performed following precipitation with cetylpyridiniumchloride. In aging animals the amount of dermatan-sulphate (DS) and of the total acidic glycosaminoglycans (a.GAG) is increased as compared to the younger animals, although there ist no age related difference in the incorporation of glucosamine. The incorporation per microgram a.GAG (spec. act.) is decreased. Following TAA the amount of DS is increased in both age groups, whereas the total amount of GAG is increased only in the younger animals. The incorporation per mg dry weight is also increased in all GAG types of both age groups which is also the case with the spec. act. (with the exception of HS in the younger animals). The increase of the incorporation per mg dry weight in DS is significantly lower in the older TAA-animals as compared to the younger ones. HS shows the same tendency, but there is no significance. The age related increase of hydroxyproline parallels that of DS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)