Developmental patterns of acid hydrolases during differentiation of fetal mouse skin

The activities of acid phosphatase and beta-glucuronidase were assayed in fetal and neonatal mouse epidermis by microanalytical methods. The level of acid phosphatase activity was low in the epidermis on Day 15 of gestation. Acid phosphatase activity increased 10-fold between Day 15 of gestation and neonatalhood. On the other hand, beta-glucuronidase activity was high on Days 14 and 15 of gestation and low after Day 17 of gestation. The relative ratio of acid phosphatase to beta-glucuronidase activity appeared to represent a marker for the degree of differentiation in whole epidermis.