NEW CHONDROITIN SULFATE LYASE

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a new chondroitin sulfate lyase useful for the analysis of the sequence of a saccharide chain and the treatment of hernia of the intervertebral disk, etc. SOLUTION: This chondroitin sulfate has the hollowing physicochemical properties: activity, decomposing an N-acetylhexosaminide bond of a glucosaminoglucan and producing only an unsaturated glucosaminoglucan disaccharide by the complete decomposition, and having an exo-type enzymatic activity; substrate specificity, active on a sulfate chain part of chondroitin (4-sulfate), dermatan sulfate, etc., and indicative on keratan sulfate, heparin, etc.; molecular weight, 105 kDa determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reductive condition; amino acid composition, detecting cystine by the amino acid analysis of an hydrolysate of the enzyme; amino acid at the N-terminal, leucine; isoelectric point, pH8.45; and optimum temperature, around 40 deg.C. Further, the objective chondroitin sulfate lyase is obtained by cultivating a cell (e.g. Proteus vulgaris, strain NCTC 4636) having a productivity of a chondroitin sulfate lyase.