Effects of female sex hormones on the activity of serum hyaluronidase

The activities of serum hyaluronidase from female rats were measured during pregnancy. In pregnant female rats, the activity of serum hyaluronidase was found to increase initially and to fall to a minimum by the last day of the gestation period, but the activity of the enzyme increased after delivery and was similar to normals at 21 days post-partum. The activity of hyaluronidase obtained from bovine leucocytes was significantly increased when leucocytes were incubated with various concentrations of progesterone. It is suggested that female sex hormones affect lysosomal membranes making them lyse more readily and hence release hyaluronidase.