Degradation of chondroitin 4-sulfate by rat stomach exoglycosidases, sulfohydrolase and hyaluronidase-like enzymes.

Rat stomach enzymes degrade chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4-S) by cooperative enzyme action yielding monosaccharides, SO4 (=) and oligosaccharides. Evidence for this was obtained by analyzing the effects of adding inhibitors and rate-limiting enzyme to incubation mixtures. A size preference appears to exist, since oligosaccharides of DP4-10 liberated by a gastric hyaluronidase-like enzyme is a poor substrate for desulfation by the gastric enzyme complex.