Description

• General description: Hyaluronidase is a hyaluronic acid-metabolizing enzyme.[1] It is found in the venoms of snake, honeybee and hymenoptera. Hyaluronidase degrades hyaluronic acid (HA), which enhances membrane permeability, lowers viscosity and increases tissue permeability. It enhances the diffusion of local anesthetics, lowers the size of myocardial infarction, improves the effects of anticancer drugs and prevents perineal trauma during spontaneous delivery.[2]
• Application: Hyaluronidase from sheep testes has been used:in flow cytometry[3]in the isolation of putative spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs)[4]to study the effects of magnetic stimulation in magnetic hydrogel properties[5]in immunohistochemistry to visualize collagen type II distribution[6][7]to expose group-III auditory neurons of Muller′s organ for patch-clamp recordings[8]for the degeneration of hydrogels[9]
• Biochem/physiol Actions: These enzymes randomly cleave β-N-acetylhexosamine-(1−4)-glycosidic bonds in hyaluronic acid, chondroitin, and chondroitin sulfates.
• Unit Definition: One unit will degrade 0.75 μg of the polysaccharide hyaluronic acid per minute at pH 5.35 at 37 ºC (as measured by turbidimetric absorbance (λ: 600nm) when complexed with BSA after 45 minutes).
• Physical form: Lyophilized powder containing lactose
• Other Notes: View more information on enzymes for complex carbohydrate analysis at www.sigma-aldrich.com/enzymeexplorer