The mechanical properties of the arterial wall depend not only on collagen and elastin, but also on proteoglycans. The quantity and quality of proteoglycans depend on the rate of their synthesis and degradation. Proteoglycans are degraded by exoglycosidases and proteases. In the wall of an aortic aneurysm, we found an increase in the activity of exoglycosidases (beta-hexosaminidase, beta-galactosidase and alpha-mannosidase) in comparison with normal and atheromatous aortas, which may indicate a participation of exoglycosidases in decreasing the concentration of proteoglycans in an aneurysmatic arterial wall.
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