ABSTRACT
Decalcified bone collagen of older male garden lizards, Calotes versicolor, was less susceptible to digestion by collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum than that from younger individuals. In aged skin the percentage solubility and the soluble/insoluble collagen ratio decreased, with a concomitant rise in insoluble and total collagen. Collagen/unit area increased with advancing age in both dorsal and ventral skin. These results from a non-mammalian poikilothermic vertebrate provide additional evidence in favour of the cross-linkage theory of ageing and suggest a common pattern of collagen ageing in vertebrates.
Subject(s)
Aging , Bone and Bones/pathology , Collagen/physiology , Lizards/anatomy & histology , Skin/pathology , Animals , Collagen/analysis , Male , Microbial Collagenase/pharmacologySubject(s)
Aminopropionitrile/pharmacology , Ascorbic Acid/analysis , Collagen/analysis , Lizards/metabolism , Animals , MaleABSTRACT
Age related changes in the digestibility of tendon collagen of the garden lizard, Calotes versicolor, were traced using type I collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum. Collagen from older lizards showed less susceptibility for collagenase digestion than the younger lizards suggesting increased number of cross-linkages comparable with mammals.
