A Chemical Concept for the Treatment of Tay–Sachs Disease

Rats given SK&F 14336-D (9-[3-Dimethylamino propyl]-2-chloroacridane), a tranquilizing drug, developed an increased number of vacuolated lymphocytes as observed by light microscopy. Vacuoles in peripheral blood of rats and humans apparently are rare and are not usually reported in differential counts. Transforming agents such as phytohemagglutinin and pokeweed mitogen induce similar vacuoles in in vitro cultures of lymphocytes. These vacuoles have also been reported in some of the lipid-storage diseases of humans such as amaurotic familial idiocy, familial neurovisceral lipidosis, lipomucopolysaccharidosis and sphingomyelinosis. Electron microscopic studies of Tay-Sachs' disease and of chloroquine treated swine have demonstrated large numbers of “membranous cytoplasmic granules” in the cytoplasm of neurons, in addition to lymphocytes. The present study was undertaken with the purpose of characterizing the membranous inclusions and developing an experimental animal model which may be used for the study of lipid storage diseases.

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Degradation of keratan sulphate by β-N-acetylhexosaminidases A and B

Biochemical Journal ◽

10.1042/bj1930811 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 193 (3) ◽

pp. 811-818 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

T Ludolph ◽

E Paschke ◽

J Glössl ◽

H Kresse

Keyword(s):

Isoelectric Focusing ◽

Human Liver ◽

Thermal Inactivation ◽

Sandhoff Disease ◽

Chromogenic Substrate ◽

Polymeric Substrate ◽

Keratan Sulphate ◽

Human Enzyme ◽

Tay Sachs Disease

Enzymic cleavage of beta-N-acetylglucosamine residues of keratan sulphate was studied in vitro by using substrate a [3H]glucosamine-labelled desulphated keratan sulphate with N-acetylglucosamine residues at the non-reducing end. Both lysosomal beta-N-acetylhexosaminidases A and B are proposed to participate in the degradation of keratan sulphate on the basis of the following observations. Homogenates of fibroblasts from patients with Sandhoff disease, but not those from patients with Tay–Sachs disease, were unable to release significant amounts of N-acetyl[3H]glucosamine. On isoelectric focusing of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase from human liver the peaks of keratan sulphate-degrading activity coincided with the activity towards p-nitrophenyl beta-N-acetylglucosaminide. A monospecific antibody against the human enzyme reacted with both enzyme forms and precipitated the keratan sulphate-degrading activity. Both isoenzymes had the same apparent Km of 4mM, but the B form was approximately twice as active as the A form when compared with the activity towards a chromogenic substrate. Differences were noted in the pH–activity profiles of both isoenzymes. Thermal inactivation of isoenzyme B was less pronounced towards the polymeric substrate than towards the p-nitrophenyl derivative.

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