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Hydrolytic Enzyme Activities of the Nervous System
Robert B. Ramsey, PhD;
Kenneth R. Smith, Jr, MD;
David C. Crafts, MD;
Hyung D. Chung, MD;
Michael Fredericks, MD
Arch Neurol. 1980;37(6):356-359.
Abstract
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• The activities of five hydrolytic enzymes (acid and alkaline phosphatase, hexosaminidase [N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase], β-galactosidase, and β-glucuronidase) were measured in reconstituted homogenates of lyophilized human brain tissue and primary and metastatic tumors. The linearity of reaction, with respect to incubation time, and optimal pH of each enzyme and in tumor tissues were comparable to those in normal brain tissue. Total enzyme activities of hexosaminidase, β-glucuronidase, and β-galactosidase were significantly higher in tumors than in normal cerebral white matter. The ratio of hexosaminidase activity to β-glucuronidase activity was significantly lower for metastatic than for primary tumors or normal white matter. When histological observations do not clearly establish if a brain tumor is primary or metastatic, this ratio may help. Alteration of hydrolytic enzyme activities as demonstrated here may be indicative of "key enzymes" that are essential for maintaining the metabolic advantages of tumors.
Author Affiliations
From the Department of Neurology (Drs Ramsey and Fredericks) and the Section of Neurosurgery (Drs Smith and Crafts), St Louis University School of Medicine, and the Department of Pathology, John Cochran Veterans Administration Hospital (Dr Chung), St Louis.
Footnotes
Accepted for publication July 1, 1979.
Adapted from a preliminary report read before the Eighth International Congress of the International Society of Neuropathology, Washington, DC, Sept 25, 1978.
Reprint requests to Department of Neurology, St Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63104 (Dr Ramsey).
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