STUDIES ON THE MODE OF ACTION OF LATHYROGENIC COMPOUNDS

Abstract

The lathyrogenic effect of INAH in the chick embryo may be measured by the increase in the extractibility of collagen from the bones with 1 M NaCl. Incubation of these bones in vitro with carbonyl compounds diminishes the amount of extractible collagen; with D-L-glyceraldehyde the reversal of the INAH effect is complete. This reversal effect is dependent on the time and temperature of incubation and on the quantity of D-L-glyceraldehyde, but is independent of the pH of the incubating medium, the optical form of the glyceraldehyde, or the metabolism of the cells; this suggests that it depends on a simple chemical combination. D-L-glyceraldehyde also reverses completely the extractibility of collagen from the bones of embryos rendered lathyrogenic with BAPN, semicarbazide, and hydrazine hydrate.