AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF TISSUE PROTEINS OF THE CORNEA, SCLERA, VITREOUS AND RETINA

Abstract

A HISTORICAL survey of the available information on the biochemistry of the eye in Krause's monograph¹shows a slow, progressive evolution. This knowledge concerning the protein chemistry of the cornea is relatively poor, and the information of earlier authors is of little value, as they are dated prior to the era of the protein chemistry opened by Fischer's ester method. Quantitatively, the corneal tissue consists chiefly of the substantia propria, and, logically, most attention was given to that part. One of the earlier investigators, Müller,²found that it consists basically of collagen. Because of its physical characteristics, the protein reminded him of the basic substance of the cartilage, and he called it chondrogen. The investigations of Bruns,²His,²Fubini²and Morochowetz²moved on a similar plane, until Mörner³offered more definite details. He found that the corneal tissue contains mainly collagen, with a