Degradation of arylsulfate by hepatic microsomes.

The enzyme liberated by some treatments and the changes in arylsulfatase C activity in chronic hepatic damage were investigated in rat liver. 1. The enzyme activity liberated by ultrasound was the highest in the conditions studied. 2. Arylsulfatase C was assayed using p-nitrophenyl sulfate in 0.25 M Tris/acetate buffer as substrate. It is shown that this method can be used to measure arylsulfatase C activity in a mixture of arylsulfatases A and B. 3. The enzyme is mainly located in the microsomal fraction in rat liver. In toxic hepatic damage, the enzyme activity decreases from the early stage; decreasing markedly in chronic hepatic damage. The activity seems to reflect damage to the microsomes and therefore arylsulfatase C activity can be a good indicator of injury to liver microsomes.