Androgenic regulation of N-acetyl beta-glucosaminidase activity in the submandibular glands of mice.

N-Acetyl beta-glucosaminidase [beta-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucoside acetylamido-deoxyglucohydrolase; EC 3.2.1.30] in the submandibular gland of mice was found to be androgen-dependent; the specific activities in males, females, and castrated males were 0.25, 0.11, and 0.11 unit/mg protein, respectively. The activities in females and castrated males were increased to the level of normal male mice by testosterone injection. Injections of progesterone and 17 beta-estradiol hardly affected the activity in males. In both males and females, the enzyme activity was detected in the convoluted tubular cells, not in acinous cells. The results of isoelectric focusing have shown that one enzyme having an isoelectric point of 9.0 is present in the glands of both sexes, indicating that the enzyme remains after castration and that the increases caused by testosterone represent the same molecular species. In addition, it was shown that the saliva from both sexes contained significant activity of N-acetyl beta-glucosaminidase, which also changed depending on the androgenic state of the animals. Most of the salivary activity was shown to originate from the submandibular gland, since the extirpation of this gland resulted in a significant decrease of the salivary activity.