Autologous Skin Grafts in the Rat. Biochemical Analysis of Mucopolysaccharides and Hydroxyproline.

The biochemistry of connective tissue in autologous skin grafts and intact skin of rats was studied. During the early period after surgery an increase in water and hexosamine content was observed in the grafts, together with a simultaneous decrease in concentration of hexuronic acid and hydroxyproline. The next period was characterized by a considerable increase in the content of acid mucopolysaccharides, and 54 and 103 days after grafting, the condition approached that of control skin. The alterations are considered part of the connective tissue response to injury.