Hyaluronic acid. An indicator of pathological conditions of human lungs?

Hyaluronic acid was the only glycosaminoglycan found in detectable amounts in the pulmonary secretions of patients with cystic fibrosis. The compound gave a hexuronate/hexosamines molar ratio of approximately 1. Glucosamine represented over 98% of the total hexosamines, the remainder being galactosamine. No hexoses or sulfate could be detected. It moved as a single spot with the mobility of standard hyaluronic acid on cellulose acetate electrophoresis and this spot disappeared after digestion with testicular hyaluronidase. It was associated with trace amounts of protein, the major amino acids of which are aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, and alanine.