Comparative Solubility of Bone and Skin Collagen in Primates Including Man

Man and the chimpanzee were shown to have less soluble bone collagen than the baboon and rhesus monkey in the tibia, iliac crest, and vertebral body. The DNA content of these three bones was significantly less in man than in the other primates and the rat; the monkey and the baboon had lower values than did the rat. In man, the cell content was approximately the same in the tibia, iliac crest and vertebral body while it was 3-4 times greater in the vertebral body in the monkey and baboon. Soluble collagen in human skin was less than in all other species; all primates had relatively less acid-soluble collagen than the rat. Collagen biosynthesis in vitro in baboon skin and bone was greater than that in man and less than that in the rat. The data suggest significant differences between the primate species in the biosynthesis and turnover of collagen although structural differences cannot be ruled out.