Acid mucopolysaccharides in normal serum.

Mucopolysaccharide which contains uronic acid has recently been described in normal plasma (1, 2). A method for the quantitation of plasma acid mucopolysaccharide was described by Badin, Schubert and Vouras (1), based on the observation that chondroitin sulfate added to plasma is found in euglobulin precipitates (3). These authors reported an increased amount of acid mucopolysaccharide in the plasma of 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (1). The study of acid mucopolysaccharides in blood which are chemically related to those of connective tissue might reveal information of interest concerning the diseases which primarily affect connective tissue. Accordingly, a relatively practical method was devised for measurement of the uronic acid-containing polysaccharide in the presence of large amounts of protein, and studies of the nature of the mucopolysaccharides present in blood were undertaken. Observations made on plasma and serum from normal adults are reported.