Contribution to the aetiology of synovitis in chickens, with special reference to non-infective factors. V. Extractability of glucosaminoglycans/mucoproteins from tendon tissue.

A comparative study was undertaken regarding the extractability of glucosaminoglycans and mucoproteins in the tendon tissue of birds highly susceptible to synovitis, viz.broiler breed cocks (BB cocks), and of birds highly resistant to synovitis. viz. White Leghorn hens (WL hens). It was shown that in ;the case of WL hens this extractability decreased in accordance with ageing. In the case of BB cocks such a decrease was not observed. This observation is in support of a working hypothesis which supposes a relatively high degree of interaction between the several components of tendon components of tendon tissue (e.g. collagen and glucosaminoglycans/mucoproteins) in the case of WL hens, and a relatively low degree of this interaction in the case of BB cocks. Moreover the results of this study account for the observation that the tendon tissue of WL hens is more resistant to tensile stress than that of BB cocks, and they indicate that the above interaction is a determinant in the aetiology of synovitis.