STUDIES ON Le^a-DECOMPOSING ENZYME

III. CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF THE ENZYME ON BLOOD GROUP SUBSTANCES FROM ERYTHROCYTES

Abstract

1) Treatment with Le^a enzyme preparation from Bac. cereus Le^a destroys Le^a activity of O Le(a+b-) erythrocytes and glycolipid, and liberates fucose and galactose as monosaccharides.
2) The enzymatic treatment of O Le(a-b+) erythrocytes and glycolipid results the liberation of galactose which is unrelated to the end unit of the blood group determinant.
3) On the basis of the number of moleculs of the fucose, Le^a combining sites on each O Le(a+b-) red cell are estimated to be 955, 000.