Morquio's disease type A: absence of material cross reacting with antibodies against N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase.

An antiserum was raised in guinea pigs against purified normal human N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase, the enzyme affecting in Morquio's disease type A. The antiserum precipitated most of N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase from a concentrate of normal human urine. The antigen-antibody complex was enzymatically active. Urine concentrates from five patients with Morquio's disease type A did not contain material competing with the normal enzyme for binding to soluble or Sepharose-bound antibodies. No precipitin arc was obtained on immunodiffusion of antiserum and urine from the single patient investigated by this method. From the sensitivity of the indirect immunoassay it was concluded that the urine of the five patients contained less than 5% of the normal amount of cross-reacting material.