SummaryIn heterozygotes for multiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD), several sulfatase activities including arylsulfatases A, BI, B2, and C, and cholesterol sulfatase were 40-50% of normals in cultured skin fibroblasts and 70-80% of normals in leukocytes. In MSD patients, these enzyme activities were deficient or reduced. DEAE-Sepharose column chromatographic patterns of 4-methylumbelliferyl sulfatases A, B1, and B2 in leukocytes and cultured skin fibroblasts from MSD patients and heterozygotes were also consistent with the above data. These data indicate that several sulfatase activities in heterozygotes of MSD exhibited intermediate activities as observed in the heterozygote state of other autosomal recessive inherited diseases.MSD, and a MSD obligate heterozygote (mother). Three different cell cultures of MSD proband were kindly obtained from Prof. H. Kihara (University of California, Pomona USA). Two MSD probands (GM 3245 and GM 2407) and two MSD heterozygote cell cultures (GM 2644 and GM 2667) were shipped from the Human Genetic Cell Repository, Camden, NJ. The cultures were grown under conditions described previously (7). The leukocyte or fibroblast cells were suspended in 0.05 M Tris-HC1 buffer, pH 7.4 and dialyzed overnight against 0.02 M Tris-HC1 buffer (pH 7.4). The cells were disrupted by sonication for 60 sec at 40 "K" cycles in a Branson sonifier. The homogenates were used for enzyme assays of arylsulfatase C, cholesterol sulfatase, and heparin N-sulfatase. For the determination of other sulfatases (arylsulfatases A and B), the homogenate was centrifuged at 100,000 x g for 30 min and the clear supernatant was used for enzyme assays.
AbbreviationsFor the fractionation with DEAE-Sepharose column chromatog-MDS, multiple sulfatase deficiency raphy, the soluble fraction was used.
MLD, metachromatic leukodystrophy 4-MU, 4-methylumbelliferylMultiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD) is an autosomal recessive disorder, which is clinically characterized by gargoyl-like appearance, skeletal abnormality, hepatosplenomegaly, and ichthyosis (1, 2). Biochemically, the accumulation of sulfatide, acid mucopolysaccharides, and cholesterol sulfate accompanies deficiencies 300 of arylsulfatases A, B, and C , mucopolysaccharide sulfatases -200 (sulfoiduronate sulfatase, sulfamidase, galactosamine-4-sulfatase, galactosamine-6-sulfatase) and steroid sulfatases (cholesterol sulloo fatase, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfatase, estrone sulfatase, pregnenolone sulfatase) in patients' tissues and cultured skin fibroblasts (1, 2,.3, 7, 18).This disorder is of considerable theoretical interest in genetics, because there are deficient activities of several different enzymes. In terms of the genetic controlling mechanisms of sulfatases, it is important to determine whether sulfatase activities in the heterozygote exhibit intermediate activities.This report demonstrates that various sulfatase activities in heterozygotes were about one-half of controls in cultured skin fibroblasts and 70-80% of controls in leukocytes. In addition, the arylsulfata...