Study of some lysosomal glycohydrolases in tumors of the nervous system.

The specific activities of five glycohydrolases of lysosomal origin (beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, beta-glucuronidase, beta-galactosidase, alpha-mannosidase and alpha-fucosidase) were measured in different types of primary and metastatic tumors of the human nervous system. The activities of these hydrolytic enzymes in samples of tumor tissue were compared with those in the white matter of 'control' tissue. The specific activities of beta-glucuronidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) in each group of tumors than in normal cerebral matter. The activities of the other hydrolases were sometimes significantly increased in primary tumors, but not always. In metastatic tumors, they were also significantly higher (P less than 0.01).