Abstract
A possible role of microtubules and microfilaments in the secretion process of proteoglycan and protein-free glycosaminoglycan synthesized in slices of bovine nasal cartilage was examined by using colchicine as an antimicrotubular agent, cytochalasin B as a microfilament-modifying agent, and 4-methylumbelliferyl β-D-xyloside as an artificial initiator of glycosaminoglycan. The present study suggested that the microtubule system was partly involved in the secretion of proteochondroitin sultate and protein-tree chondroitin sultate synthesized in chondrocytes. The microfilament system did not have any direct effect on this secretion process.
