SUMMARY Quantitative and qualitative variations in glycosaminoglycan content were studied in fibrillated, intact, and osteophytic cartilage of the human femoral head in osteoarthrosis. Total glycosaminoglycan content was reduced in fibrillated, unchanged in intact, and raised in osteophytic cartilage. In fibrillated and osteophytic cartilage the ratio of chondroitin sulphate to keratan sulphate was high and therefore resembled immature cartilage.Hyaluronic acid was present in reduced amount in all osteoarthrotic material. Proportionally more proteoglycans were extractable by 0*15 M NaCl and 4 M guanidinium chloride from the diseased cartilage than from normal cartilage, and all proteoglycans irrespective of buoyant density were carbohydrate deficient. It is postulated that the changes described are compatible with collagen and matrix disruption due to focal overloading and the general attempt at repair.Osteoarthrosis is characterized by articular cartilage destruction, subchondral bone changes which include cyst formation and sclerosis, and the appearance of new cartilage and osteophytes around the periphery of the articular surface.Normal articular cartilage provides a smooth bearing and shock absorbing surface for the movable ends of long bones. The special characteristics of cartilage matrix are due to proteoglycans which lie in a fibrillar meshwork of collagen. These macromolecules consist of polyanionic polysaccharide chains of chondroitin sulphate and/or keratan sulphate covalently linked to a protein core. Their high negative charge density establishes a large surrounding electrostatic domain and retards the flow of interstitial water . These effects may be further magnified by formation of proteoglycan-hyaluronic acid aggregates (Hardingham and Muir, 1974).In osteoarthrotic cartilage the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content is reduced, particularly the keratan sulphate moiety ). In addition, there appears to be a relative increase in the amount of chondroitin 4-sulphate ) and a decrease in the GAG chain length (Bollet and Nance, 1966). Recently, McDevitt and Muir (1976) This paper describes the topographical distribution of the GAGs together with the results of sequential extraction and equilibrium density-gradient centrifugation of the proteoglycans in osteoarthrosis of the human femoral head. Methods MATERIALSApart from the following, all chemicals were analytical grade: guanidinium chloride, galactosamine, glucosamine, glucuronolactone, cyanogum, agarose. Acetyl acetone was redistilled. A suspension of 2x crystallized papain was purchased from British Drug Houses, Poole, England. Testicular hyaluronidast was purchased from the same source. TISSUEOsteoarthrotic heads of femur of 3 patients aged 52, 56, and 60 years, were obtained soon after removal at operation. The pattern of osteoarthrotic changes was similar in all specimens studied (Fig. 1) Alternatively, cartilage from zone 2 or zone 3 was extracted in 4 M GnHCl for 48 h at 20C with the addition of 0-01 M sodium EDTA, 0 1 M 6-aminohexanoic acid, and...

Two-thirds of all meningiomas and four-fifths of intraspinal and sphenoidal meningiomas occur in women. Meningiomas frequently enlarge or become symptomatic during pregnancy or during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. There is an increased incidence of meningiomas in women with breast carcinoma. In a series of 23 patients with meningiomas, the authors assayed biopsy specimens of the tumor for the presence of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, using glycerol density gradient centrifugation and dextran-coated charcoal techniques. Significant levels of ER were found in only 17% of the patients, while significant PR levels were detected in 39%. Only one of the 16 tumors from female patients had significant ER levels, whereas three of the seven tumors from men had significant ER levels. Eight of the 16 tumors in women had significant PR levels, whereas only one of the seven tumors in men had a significant PR level. Thus, three out of four tumors with definite ER were from men, whereas eight of nine tumors with definite PR were from women. Of the eight women whose tumors contained PR, three were premenopausal and five postmenopausal. The single tumor with high levels of PR in the male patient was histologically atypical. The results of this series were compared with six published series of sex steroid assays in meningiomas. These seven series were divided into two groups: one group included two reports from the same laboratories in France, and the other the remaining five reports. Much higher percentages of both ER- and PR-positive tumors were reported from the French group. The authors suggest that this discrepancy may be due to the use of preoperative glucocorticoid therapy in the series from the United States. Since meningiomas are known to enlarge during periods when levels of circulating progestins are high, the presence of significant quantities of PR in a high percentage of tumors may have therapeutic implications for recurrent, malignant, or incompletely excised tumors, or for medically fragile patients. Conversely, since meningiomas are not known to enlarge during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle or with exogenous estrogen therapy, the small number of tumors positive for ER may indicate that ER lacks clinical significance. High levels of PR found in a small group of histologically aggressive tumors in several series may indicate that hormonal therapy may be especially useful in this difficult subset of patients.

This experiment was designed to determine the effects of vacuum mixing and rigor state on protein extraction and functionality of beef. Beef muscles excised either pre-or postrigor from cow chucks, were ground. The pre-or postrigor ground mince with Weber-Edsall solution was mixed using 3 different mixing times in a Keebler mixer. Either vacuum or no vacuum was utilized during mixing. Following mixing, a procedure to precipitate crude myosin (CM) from each treatment was performed. Results indicate that significantly greater amounts of CM were obtained due to vacuum treatment (P < 0.05) and with increased time of mixing (P < 0.01). Comparing pre-and postrigor vacuum mixed meat, the former produced greater CM yields over time (P < 0.01). Protein functionality of CM fractions was evaluated using binding ability and least concentration gel tests. Mixing time caused a linear decrease in binding ability (P < 0.05) and an increase in the amount of protein to form a gel, irrespective of vacuum. Delineation of the functionality differences was attempted using or-helical content, thermal melting curves, and SDS-PAGE. Implication of effects of vacuum mixing duration in relation to processed meats is discussed.

Three major ham muscles were isolated, trimmed, and placed in a tumbler either 4 or 48 hr postmortem with 18% curing solution. Either vacuum or no vacuum was applied. Brine absorption within whole muscles was monitored by taking samples at three different depths during 13.47 hr of intermittent tumbling and after the curing period at 24 hr. Results indicate that vacuum and prerigor state independently increase the absorption of NaCl (P < 0.01). After the first hour of continuous tumbling the outer sample depth attained 2.15% NaCl and then decreased, but the concentration of NaCl in the inner two depths increased linearly with log time (P < 0.01).After 24 hr a homogeneous cure distribution was not found as the NaCl content in the depths was markedly different. Breaking strengths of ham slices were found to be greater when vacuum tumbling was used (P < 0.001). Thus vacuum is implicated in increased cure absorption and binding functionality.