Glycosidases from the rat uterus

Six glycosidase activities were detected in homogenates of the rat uterus by using the p-Nitrophenyl-glycoside as substrate. The enzyme activities were separated by Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. The uterus contained alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase and N-acetylglucosaminidase activity which had a similar pH optima of 4.4, whereas the pH optimum for beta-fucosidase was found to be of 4.4 - 4.6. The alpha-mannosidase activity showed two peaks of maximal activity at pH 5.0 and pH 6.0. The uterus contained two forms of the alpha-L-fucosidase activity separable by Sephadex G-200 which had a pH optima of 4.4 - 4.6 (form I) and pH 5.0 (form II). The glycosidases differed in heat stability, Km values and other several characteristics, which suggests that each enzyme apparently did not show any cross-contamination.