Demonstration of rhodanese enzyme activity in bone tissue.

The activity of rhodanese enzyme was studied histochemically in the cells of bone tissue of various ages and in various states of differentiation, and in chondroid and epiphyseal cartilage tissue. Enzyme activity was higher in the preexisting, differentiated laminar bone tissue of young animals than in that of old animals, and higher in newly formed woven bone than in the preexisting lamellar one and higher in chondroid tissue and in epiphyseal cartilage than in the woven bone and chondroid tissue. These differences are thought to reflect differences in metabolic intensity of the different structures.