Cleavage of macromolecular heparin by an enzyme from mouse mastocytoma

Heparinase was isolated from a transplantable mouse mastocytoma, by salt extraction of a particulate fraction sedimenting at 20,000 times g, followed by precipitation from saturated ammonium sulfate. By use of gel chromatography through Sepharose 4B, the enzyme was shown to degrade macromolecular. 35S-labeled, mastocytomal heparin (K-av about 0.25) to products similar in size to commercial heparin (K-av about 0.85), apparently by nonrandom cleavage of a limited number of glycosidic linkages per molecule. Prolonged incubation times (up to 5 days, with repeated addition of enzyme) did not result in further degradation of the product. No significant depolymerizing activity was observed with any other glycosaminoglycan tested, including chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, heparan sulfate, and commercial heparin. The pH optimum for degradation of macromolecular heparin was around pH 5. The nature of the linkage cleaved by the heparinase was investigated by reduction of unlabeled polysaccharide degradation products with sodium [3H]borohydride. The degraded chains (but not the macromolecular substrate) incorporated significant amounts of tritium. An essentially monodisperse fraction of the labeled, degraded heparin was subjected to meniscus depletion sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation, indicating a molecular weight of 14,500. By relating the molecular weight to the specific activity of the preparation, the amount of reducible groups was calculated to be approximately one per molecule. The 3H-labeled heparin was degraded to monosaccharides by a combination of acid hydrolysis and cleavage due to deamination with nitrous acid. Analysis of the degradation products, by paper electrophoresis and paper chromatography, showed a major radioactive component which behaved like L-gulonic acid. Since [3H]gulonic acid would be the expected reduction product of a polysaccharide molecule, containing a glucuronic acid residue in terminal position, these results tentatively suggest that the heparinase is an endoglucuronidase. By direct deaminative cleavage (no hydrolysis) of the 3H-labeled heparin, the glucosamine unit in penultimate position (i.e. adjacent to the [3H]gulonic acid residue) was shown to be 52% N-sulfated and 48% N-acetylated. As only 14% of the glucosamine was N-acetylated in the macromolecular heparin substrate, it is suggested that cleavage of this polysaccharide, by the heparinase, occurs in regions more abundant in N-acetylated glucosamine residues than other portions of the molecule. The possibility that formation and degradation of macromolecular heparin occurs also in mammalian species other than rodents in discussed.