Effect of Cortisone on Collagen Formation in the Chick Embryo

Abstract

CORTISONE given to adult animals decreases the amount of alkali-soluble¹ and neutral salt-soluble^2,3 collagen in the skin. In the urinary excretion of hydroxyproline, however, no effect has been found^4,5. In the chick embryo, a marked increase in the content of free hydroxyproline occurs in the tissues 6–10 days after a single injection of 1 mg of cortisone acetate^6,7. However, when cortisone is given to the pregnant rat, the contents of free and bound hydroxyproline in the tissues of the new-born young are decreased⁸. This discrepancy has been attributed to the fact that 1 mg of cortisone greatly reduces the weight of the treated chick embryos and hence the absolute amounts of free and bound hydroxyproline in the cortisone-treated embryos are lower than in the controls, although their content per unit of dry tissue is higher⁷. The present work indicates that cortisone also decreases the content of free hydroxyproline per unit of dry tissue, but when cortisone is given as a single injection, a marked increase later occurs in the content of free hydroxyproline.