Methyl ester of hyaluronate is unable to stimulate exolipase formation by Serratia marcescens

Hyaluronate stimulated the formation of exolipase by Serratia marcescens. This ability was abolished when all carboxyl groups of hyaluronate were methyl esterified. Additional studies suggested that the biological inactivity of esterified hyaluronate should be ascribed to the reduced conformational order of the molecules rather than to their electroneutrality.