Steroid Sulphatase, Arylsulphatase and ,b-glucuronidase in Marine Invertebrates

The widespread occurrence of sulphatases in the Mollusca was first demonstrated by Soda & Hattori (1933a, b) who showed that these enzymes are mainly concentrated in the digestive glands. That extracts from marine molluscs also possess ,B-glucuronidase activity was first noted by Dodgson, Lewis & Spencer (1952) who studied the optimum conditions for the activity ofthis enzyme and arylsulphatase in Patella vuigata (L.) and Littorina littorea (L.) and applied their findings in an investigation of the distribution of both enzymes among various other marine molluscs (Dodgson, Lewis & Spencer, 1953)· Molluscan tissues have also been investigated as a possible source of a sulphatase capable of hydrolysing the steroid conjugates normally encountered in human urine (Henry & Thevenet, 1952; Stitch & Halkerston, 1953a, b; 1956; Jayle & Baulieu, 1954; Savard, Bagnoli & Dorfman, 1954; Roy, 1954, 1956a; Leon, Bulbrook & Corner, 1960). The main reason for such studies has been the need to find an alternative to acid hydrolysis of the steroid conjugates, a method which causes much destruction and alteration of some of the liberated steroids. However, although many of the gastropods studied possess an enzyme capable of hydrolysing dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (I), and some species belonging to this class possess an enzyme which will also hydrolyse aetiocholanolone sulphate (II), it has not been possible to detect an enzyme which would effect the hydrolysis of androsterone sulphate (III). This means that complete enzymic hydrolysis of all the steroid conjugates present in human urine cannot be achieved with any of the molluscan enzymes studied so far. Moreover, sulphatases from other sources, such as mammalian liver (Gibian & Bratfisch, 1956; Roy, 1957), fungi (Cohen & Bates, 1949; Stitch & Halkerston, 1953b), and bacteria (Buehler, Katzman & Doisy, 1950) have also proved to be unsuitable for this purpose. The present work is an extension of an earlier study (Leon et ai., 1960) in which a search was made for a convenient source of a 'steroid sulphatase'