Ascorbic acid reduces tropoelastin levels in culture medium of chick skin fibroblasts

Ascorbic acid reduced tropoelastin levels in the culture medium of embryonic chick skin fibroblasts to one-third or one-fourth of their original value in a dose- and exposure time-dependent manner under conditions in which collagen synthesis was stimulated 1.8-fold. The steady-state level of elastin mRNA remained essentially constant, whereas the collagen mRNA content increased in proportion to the increase in collagen synthesis with ascorbic acid treatment. These results suggest that the reduction of tropoelastin levels is not controlled by the elastin mRNA level but, rather, is related to the posttranslational modification of the tropoelastin molecule.