ABSTRACT
Hyaluronan (HA) is a naturally occurring polysaccharide with a large unbranched structure composed of repeating disaccharides of N-acetylglucosamine and βglucuronic acid (1). Hyaluronan is present in all vertebrate tissues and body fluids, though it is most abundant in the skin (2). More than 50% of the total HA in the body is found in the skin (2,3), where it is essential to the stabilization and maintenance of the intercellular matrix and to various cell functions. The levels of HA in the skin change dramatically when the tissue structure is disrupted by injury and it is the first glycosaminoglycan synthesized following injury (4). Dramatic changes in HA also occur during development, aging, and pathological conditions (5). Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that hyaluronan is of critical importance to the functional well-being of normal physiological processes.
