Factors influencing proteoglycan size in rachitic-chick growth cartilage.

1. Proteoglycan isolated from rachitic-chick growth cartilage was of smaller size than that isolated from tissue of normal chicks. 2. The two proteoglycan populations were of similar average chemical composition and similar in the size of their chondroitin sulphate chains. 3. The size of the proteoglycans was not affected by reduction and alkylation. 4. Labelling studies in vivo with Na235SO4 and [3H]leucine suggest that the difference in size in the rachitic state results from an alteration in synthesis rather than extracellular proteolytic degradation of the normal proteoglycan, but the direct cause of this alteration remains unestablished.