A polyhydric phenol sulfokinase and chronic liver injury.

The sulfokinase, that transfers activated sulfate from PAPS (3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate) to nitrocatechol sulfate was studied. 1. It is thought that the enzyme plays an important role in detoxication by the sulfation of polyhydric phenols in liver. 2. The enzyme had an optimum at pH 8.0 in Tris-acetate buffer. Km was 0.105 x 10(-3)M. The rate of conjugation was linear within 1 min. 3. The main distribution of the sulfokinase was found in the liver, lungs, spleen and various other organs in the rat. The activity of the enzyme in rat liver was the highest in soluble fraction. In chronic hepatic injury caused by carbon tetrachloride injection, the activity of the enzyme gradually decreased to below about one half of the control value.