STUDIES ON ESTER SULPHATES

Abstract

ABSTRACT A survey of the distribution of phenol and steroid sulphokinases in various adult human tissues has been undertaken by the use of 35S-labelled 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulphate (PAPS). The following healthy tissues were studied: adrenals, jejunal mucosa, kidneys, liver, ovaries and spleen. In addition, some determinations were made on pathological tissues, i. e. cirrhotic liver, an adrenal adenoma, hypernephromas, nephritic renal tissues and various thyroid adenomas. Phenol sulphokinase was present in all the tissues studied. With one exception, the various steroid sulphokinases (dehydroepiandrosterone, androsterone, aetiocholan-3α-ol-17-one, testosterone, pregnan-3α-ol-20-one, pregnan-3β-ol-20-one, 11-deoxycorticosterone and oestrone sulphokinase) were detectable in three organs only (liver, adrenals and jejunal mucosa). The exception was the presence of oestrone sulphokinase in a thyroid adenoma of »foetal« type. In the pathological tissues, the level of the enzyme activities did not deviate significantly from that in normal tissues. The pH optima of some sulphokinases were estimated and found to be 5.8 for DHA sulphokinase, 5.5 for androsterone sulphokinase and 6.8 for phenol sulphokinase in the liver preparations. In the adrenal preparations the pH optimum for DHA and DOC sulphokinase was 6.3 and that for androsterone sulphokinase 5.9.