Studies on sulphatases. 15. The arylsulphatases of human serum and urine

Abstract

Human serum and urine exhibit little arylsulfatase activity towards potassium p-acetylphenyl and p-nitrophenyl sulfates. In certain circumstances urine does show activity towards these substrates but the activity resides in sedimentable material such as cellular debris and bacteria. Both serum and urine exhibit appreciable arylsulfatase activity towards nitrocatechol sulfate. The activity in urine is a feature of the urine per se and probably arises only in part from cellular debris. Two enzymes, corresponding to arylsulfatases A and B of human tissues, are responsible for the bulk of the arylsulfatase activity of urine. Some observations on the non-enzymic catalysis by serum of the alkaline hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl sulfate are reported.