Protein Associated with Hyaluronic Acid in Ox Synovial Fluid

Abstract

Protein which is associated with hyaluronic acid, prepared in a physico-chemically unchanged state from ox synovial fluid by ultrafiltration, has been separated by preparative equilibrium sedimentation in a caesium chloride density gradient and by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex. Earlier work has been confirmed by showing that the protein consists of at least two chemically distinct lipoprotein, components. It has also been confirmed that its removal from the hyaluronic acid causes marked changes of viscosity, without the occurrence of degradation of the hyaluronic acid. The separated proteins appeared in a number of differently aggregated forms, and this fact has prevented our drawing conclusions about their molecular sizes in synovial fluid.