[Spontaneously occuring and experimentally induced enzymatic changes in the rat parotid gland: a possible experimental model of ageing (author's transl)].

The activity, specificity and stability of many enzymes decreases in ageing organisms. This fact is attributed to the accumulation of errors in protein biosynthesis. Due to its very active protein metabolism, the parotid gland is a suitable experimental model for the investigation of such age-dependent processes. By administration of 5-bromodeoxyuridine to young rats, changes of isoamylase.activity were induced in the parotid glands which were strikingly similar to those found earlier in control normally-aged animals.