Intravenously administered 25I-labeled human l3-hexosaminidase A (P-N-acetylglucosaminidase; 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-p-D>glucoside acetamidodeoxyglucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.30) was rapidly cleared from the circulation of rats and accumulated in the liver. When hepatic cells were subsequently isolated, the label was recovered from both sinusoidal cells and, The structure of the carbohydrate moiety of glycoproteins, glycoconjugates, and lysosomal glycosidases profoundly influences their survival in the mammalian circulation. Many glycoproteins are rapidly cleared by the mammalian liver by processes that appear to depend on specific hepatic glycoprotein recognition systems. Ashwell. and coworkers have identified a hepatic receptor that mediates the rapid clearance of galactose-terminated glycoproteins from the plasma (1). A second hepatic recognition system that mediates the clearance of glycoproteins with terminal N-acetylglucosamine or mannose residues has been described (2-4). Initial experiments showed that many highly purified lysosomal glycosidases including human and rat 3-glucuronidase, rat ,B-galactosidase, a-fucosidase, a-mannosidase, and N-acetyl-f-D-glucosaminidase are promptly cleared from plasma by a recognition system located in the liver (5, 6). Glycoproteins with terminal mannose or N-acetylglucosamine residues were potent inhibitors of the clearance of these lysosomal glycosidases, suggesting that the hepatic uptake of these enzymes is mediated by a receptor or receptors that recognize exposed N-acetylglucosamine or mannose residues (2, 7 (9) of a mannose/N-acetylglucosamine recognition system on rat alveolar macrophages. This paper describes an in vitro study on the mechanism of the selective hepatic uptake of a native lysosomal enzyme f-hexosaminidase A (f-N-acetylglucosaminidase; 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-f-D-glucoside acetamidodeoxyglucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.30). The results demonstrate that the sinusoidal cells of the liver, and not the hepatocytes, are primarily responsible for the hepatic uptake of this lysosomal glycosidase. Furthermore, the results suggest that the uptake process is mediated by a cell surface receptor that is responsible for the recognition and clearance of mannose-terminated glycoproteins.MATERIALS AND METHODS Waymouth's medium 752/1 and heat-inactivated newborn calf serum were obtained from GIBCO. Krebs-Henseleit buffer was furnished by the National Institutes of Health Media Section. Bovine serum albumin (fraction V), mannan, and Hepes were obtained from Sigma. Pronase was purchased from Calbiochem, collagenase (type II) from Worthington, and metrizamide (analytical grade) from the Accurate Chemical and Scientific Company (Hicksville, NY).3-Hexosaminidase A was purified by a modification of the method of Tallman et al. (10). Concanavalin A-Sepharose (Pharmacia) affinity chromatography and butyl-agarose (Miles) hydrophobic interaction chromatography were incorporated in the procedure, and the ammonium sulfate precipitation step was eliminated. The product appeared homogeneous...