Isolation and characterization of a chondroitin sulfate-degrading endo-beta-glucuronidase from rabbit liver

An endo-beta-glucuronidase acting on chondroitin sulfate was isolated from rabbit liver and purified about 550-fold, using a combination of ammonium sulfate fractionation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography, gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300, affinity chromatography through heparin-Sepharose CL-6B and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The pH optimum of this enzyme was 4.0 and the Km value 7 X 10(-3) M for chondroitin sulfate (Mr 40,000). The isoelectric point of the enzyme was found to be at pH 5.4. The molecular weight, estimated by gel filtration through Sephacryl S-200 and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, was 35,000. This enzyme, which was found in the liver, kidney, spleen, and lung, hydrolyzed the glucuronyl galactose linkage of the linkage region of chondroitin sulfate possessing a very small peptide segment. The enzyme did not hydrolyze proteoglycan. It was concluded that an endo-beta-glucuronidase is involved in the catabolism of proteoglycan chondroitin sulfates.