The gene encoding the periplasmic beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GlcNAcase B) from a marine Alteromonas sp. strain, O-7, was cloned and sequenced. The protein sequence of GlcNAcase B revealed a highly significant homology with Vibrio GlcNAcase and alpha- and beta-chains of human beta-hexosaminidase.

An efficient chemo-enzymatic process for construction of the α-linked disaccharide unit (GlcNAcα1-4Gal) found in gastric mucin has been developed. The process consists of a one-step preparation of a novel triazine type glycosyl donor in water and the subsequent transglycosylation to a galactose derivative catalysed by α-N-acetylglucosaminidase.

We describe a cell-free system in which the membrane glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus is rapidly and efficiently transported to membranes of the Golgi complex by a process resembling intracellular protein transport. Transport in vitro is energy-dependent and is accompanied by terminal glycosylation of the membrane glycoprotein (dependent upon UDP-GlcNAc and resulting in resistance to ...

The genome sequence of the soil bacterium Sphingobacterium sp. strain HMA12, the culture supernatant of which exhibited endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (ENGase) activity, was examined for ENGase-encoding genes. Here, we report the characterization of new genes of ENGases, obtained by whole-genome shotgun sequencing, that are capable of specifically hydrolyzing fucose-containing oligosaccharides.

The Sanfilippo syndrome type B is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutation in the gene (NAGLU) encoding alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase, a lysosomal enzyme required for the stepwise degradation of heparan sulfate. The most serious manifestations are profound mental retardation, intractable behavior problems, and death in the second decade. To generate a model for studies of pathophysiol...

In this communication, we describe evidence demonstrating the capacity of Atl, the major Staphylococcus aureus autolytic enzyme to bind DNA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) show that both the Atl protein and the endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GL) domain were able to bind DNA of nonspecific sequence. The implications of this unexpected observation for the physiology of S. aureus re...

Degradation and invasion of basement membrane by tumor cells involves the cooperative hydrolysis of proteoglycans, collagens, and glycoproteins mediated by a number of enzymes including proteases, collagenases, and glycosidases. In order to study these processes in vitro, a tissue culture system was developed in which bovine corneal endothelial cell extracellular matrix (ECM) serves as a substr...

Lamellar bodies and lysosomes from the lungs of rabbits were examined for the presence of 24 hydrolytic enzymes. All hydrolases detectable in lysosomes were also found in lamellar bodies. Hydrolase activities in lamellar bodies were not due to contamination with lysosomes as shown by isopycnic centrifugation of the subcellular organelles on continuous density sucrose gradients. Lysosomal prepar...