Sulfatases are

enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...

s of the

esterase An esterase is a hydrolase enzyme that splits esters into an acid and an alcohol in a chemical reaction with water called hydrolysis. A wide range of different esterases exist that differ in their substrate specificity, their protein structure, ...

class that catalyze the hydrolysis of

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

esters. These may be found on a range of substrates, including steroids, carbohydrates and proteins. Sulfate esters may be formed from various alcohols and amines. In the latter case the resultant N-sulfates can also be termed

sulfamate Sulfamic acid, also known as amidosulfonic acid, amidosulfuric acid, aminosulfonic acid, sulphamic acid and sulfamidic acid, is a molecular compound with the formula H3NSO3. This colourless, water-soluble compound finds many applications. Sulfami ...

s. Sulfatases play important roles in the cycling of sulfur in the environment, in the degradation of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and glycolipids in the lysosome, and in remodelling sulfated glycosaminoglycans in the extracellular space. Together with

sulfotransferase Sulfotransferases (SULTs) are transferase enzymes that catalyze the transfer of a sulfo group from a donor molecule to an acceptor alcohol or amine. The most common sulfo group donor is 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS). In the case o ...

s, sulfatases form the major catalytic machinery for the synthesis and breakage of sulfate esters.

Occurrence and importance

Sulfatases are found in lower and higher organisms. In higher organisms they are found in intracellular and extracellular spaces. Steroid sulfatase is distributed in a wide range of tissues throughout the body, enabling sulfated steroids synthesized in the adrenals and gonads to be desulfated following distribution through the circulation system. Many sulfatases are localized in the

lysosome A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane prot ...

, an acidic digestive organelle found within the cell. Lysosomal sulfatases cleave a range of sulfated carbohydrates including sulfated glycosaminoglycans and

glycolipids Glycolipids are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the connec ...

. Genetic defects in sulfatase activity can arise through mutations in individual sulfatases and result in certain

lysosomal storage disorders Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs; ) are a group of over 70 rare inherited metabolic disorders that result from defects in lysosomal function. Lysosomes are sacs of enzymes within cells that digest large molecules and pass the fragments on to other ...

with a spectrum of

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

s ranging from defects in physical and intellectual development.

Three-dimensional structure

The following sulfatases have been shown to be structurally related based on their

sequence homology Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a spe ...

: *

cerebroside-sulfatase Cerebroside-sulfatase (EC 3.1.6.8, arylsulfatase A, cerebroside sulfate sulfatase) is an enzyme with systematic name cerebroside-3-sulfate 3-sulfohydrolase. This enzyme catalyses the following chemical reaction : a cerebroside 3-sulfate + H2O \ri ...

steroid sulfatase Steroid sulfatase (STS), or steryl-sulfatase (EC 3.1.6.2), formerly known as arylsulfatase C, is a sulfatase enzyme involved in the metabolism of steroids. It is encoded by the ''STS'' gene. Reactions This enzyme catalysis, catalyses the follow ...

arylsulfatase A Arylsulfatase A (or cerebroside-sulfatase) is an enzyme that breaks down sulfatides, namely cerebroside 3-sulfate into cerebroside and sulfate. In humans, arylsulfatase A is encoded by the ''ARSA'' gene. Pathology A deficiency is associated with m ...

(ASA), a

lysosomal A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal Cell (biology), cells. They are spherical Vesicle (biology and chemistry), vesicles that contain Hydrolysis, hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A ly ...

enzyme which hydrolyzes cerebroside sulfate; *

arylsulfatase B Arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase, chondroitinsulfatase, chondroitinase, acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase, N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate sulfohydrolase, ) is an enzyme associated with mucopolysaccharidosis VI (Maroteaux–L ...

(ASB) which hydrolyzes the sulfate ester group from N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate residues of

dermatan sulfate Dermatan sulfate is a glycosaminoglycan (formerly called a mucopolysaccharide) found mostly in skin, but also in blood vessels, heart valves, tendons, and lungs. It is also referred to as chondroitin sulfate B, although it is no longer classifie ...

; * arylsulfatase C (ASD) and E (ASE); steryl-sulfatase (STS), a membrane bound enzyme which hydrolyzes 3-beta-hydroxy

steroid sulfate Steroid sulfates are endogenous sulfate esters of steroids. They are formed by steroid sulfotransferases via sulfation of endogenous steroids like cholesterol and steroid hormones. Although steroid sulfates do not bind to steroid hormone receptor ...

s; *

iduronate 2-sulfatase Iduronate 2-sulfatase (EC 3.1.6.13; systematic name L-iduronate-2-sulfate 2-sulfohydrolase) is a sulfatase enzyme associated with Hunter syndrome. It catalyses hydrolysis of the 2-sulfate groups of the L-iduronate 2-sulfate units of dermatan sulf ...

(IDS), a lysosomal enzyme that hydrolyzes the 2-sulfate groups from

iduronic acid -Iduronic acid (IUPAC abbr.: IdoA) is the major uronic acid component of the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) dermatan sulfate, and heparin. It is also present in heparan sulfate, although here in a minor amount relative to its carbon-5 epimer glucuronic ...

s in

and

heparan sulfate Heparan sulfate (HS) is a linear polysaccharide found in all animal tissues. It occurs as a proteoglycan (HSPG, i.e. Heparan Sulfate ProteoGlycan) in which two or three HS chains are attached in close proximity to cell surface or extracellular ma ...

; *

N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase The enzyme ''N''-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase (EC 3.1.6.4) catalyzes the chemical reaction of cleaving off the 6-sulfate groups of the ''N''-acetyl-D-galactosamine 6-sulfate units of the macromolecule chondroitin sulfate and, similarly, of the D ...

, which hydrolyzes the 6-sulfate groups of the N-acetyl-D-galactosamine of

chondroitin sulfate Chondroitin sulfate is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars ( N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid). It is usually found attached to proteins as part of a proteoglycan. A chondroitin chain can have ove ...

and D-galactose 6-sulfate units of

keratan sulfate Keratan sulfate (KS), also called keratosulfate, is any of several sulfated glycosaminoglycans (structural carbohydrates) that have been found especially in the cornea, cartilage, and bone. It is also synthesized in the central nervous system w ...

; *

N-sulfoglucosamine sulfohydrolase In enzymology, a N-sulfoglucosamine sulfohydrolase () is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction :N-sulfo-D-glucosamine + H2O \rightleftharpoons D-glucosamine + sulfate Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are N-sulfo-D-glucosamine a ...

, the lysosomal enzyme that hydrolyses N-sulfo-D-glucosamine into

glucosamine Glucosamine (C6H13NO5) is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of two polysaccharides, chitosan and chitin. Glucosamine is one of the most ...

and

; * glucosamine-6-sulfatase (G6S), which hydrolyzes the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 6-sulfate units of heparan sulfate and keratan sulfate; *

, the lysosomal enzyme that hydrolyses N-sulfo-D-glucosamine into

and

; *sea urchin embryo

arylsulfatase Arylsulfatase (EC 3.1.6.1, sulfatase, nitrocatechol sulfatase, phenolsulfatase, phenylsulfatase, ''p''-nitrophenyl sulfatase, arylsulfohydrolase, 4-methylumbelliferyl sulfatase, estrogen sulfatase) is a type of sulfatase enzyme with systematic name ...

; *green algae

, which plays a role in the

mineralization Mineralization may refer to: * Mineralization (biology), when an inorganic substance precipitates in an organic matrix ** Biomineralization, a form of mineralization ** Mineralization of bone, an example of mineralization ** Mineralized tissues are ...

of sulfates; and *

from ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'', ''

Klebsiella aerogenes ''Klebsiella aerogenes'', previously known as ''Enterobacter aerogenes,'' is a Gram-negative, Oxidase test, oxidase negative, catalase positive, Citrate test, citrate positive, Indole test, indole negative, Bacillus, rod-shaped bacterium. The ba ...

'' and ''

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ''Pseudomonas aeruginosa'' is a common encapsulated, gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, ''P. aerugi ...

''.

Human proteins containing this domain

ARSA; ARSB; ARSD;

ARSE Arse or ARSE may refer to: * A Commonwealth English slang term for the buttocks * Arse, the name for the Iberian settlement of modern-day Sagunto * Arse (district), a district in the South Tapanuli Regency, North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesi ...

; ARSF; ARSG; ARSH; ARSI; ARSJ;

ARSK Arsk ( rus, Арск, p=ˈarsk; tt-Cyrl, Арча, ''Arça'') is a town and the administrative center of Arsky District in the Tatarstan, Russia, located on the Kazanka River, from the republic's capital of Kazan. As of the 2010 Census, its p ...

;

GALNS N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase is an enzyme that, in humans, is encoded by the ''GALNS'' gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''gener ...

; GNS;

IDS IDS may refer to: Computing * IBM Informix Dynamic Server, a relational database management system * Ideographic Description Sequence, describing a Unihan character as a combination of other characters * Integrated Data Store, one of the first da ...

; PIGG;

SGSH N-sulphoglucosamine sulphohydrolase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''SGSH'' gene. Clinical significance A number sign (#) is used with this entry because the phenotype is caused by mutation in the gene encoding N-sulfoglucosami ...

;

STS STS, or sts, may refer to: Medicine * Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize * Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics * Soft-tissue sarcoma * Staurosporine, an antibiotic * STS (gen ...

; SULF1; SULF2;

References

External links

*
Overview at rndsystems.com

{{InterPro content, IPR000917 Transmembrane proteins