A dehydroepiandrosterone sulfatase inhibitory activity in soluble proteins of guinea pig liver.
An inhibitor of microsomal dehydroepiandrosterone sulfatase was found in the soluble fraction of non-pregnant guinea pig liver. The extent of inhibitory effect was dependent on the concentration of soluble proteins. The inhibitor was partly purified by gel permeation and hydroxylapatite chromatography with a purification factor of 16.6. The soluble inhibitor was non-dialyzable, not destroyed by RNase or DNase digestion but totally destroyed by pronase digestion. The inhibitor is a soluble protein with a molecular weight of approximately 17,000 (determined by gel permeation chromatography). Inhibition of microsomal dehydroepiandrosterone sulfatase by the soluble inhibitor is a non-competitive inhibition. From this present finding the question arises whether the inhibitor could be involved in the regulation of the hydrolysis of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate in the guinea pig liver.