Two forms of beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase--known as form A and form B - were purified from bovine spleen homogenates and efficaciously separated by preparative disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel. Studies on the enzymatic specificity revealed that the two forms have different glycoside hydrolase and glycosyl transferase activities towards substrates of natural origin. 2) With the trisaccharide GlcNAc-GlcUA-GlcNAc from hyaluronate as substrate, form A released free N-acetylglucosamine at a rate 35-40 times higher than form B. The B form, however, transferred N-acetyl-[6-3H]glucosamine from phenyl-beta-N-acetyl-D[6-3H]glucosaminide to the tetrasaccharides GlcUA-GalNAc-4-sulfate-GlcUA--GalNAc-4-sulfate or GlcUA-GlcNAc-GlcUA-GlcNAc isolated from chondroitin 4-sulfate or hyaluronate at rates 5-10 times higher than beta-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase A, the corresponding 3H-pentasaccharides being isolated as reaction products. 3) The pH optimum of the glycoside hydrolase activity is 4.5, while optimum glycosyl transfer proceeds at pH 6.5. Under condition optimum for glycoside transferase, hydrolytic activity is still observed with each form, but the B form exhibits about equal glycoside hydrolase and glycoside transferase activity, whereas the A form has a predominant glycoside hydrolase action.
