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Abstract
We describe a procedure for molecular mass determination of hyaluronidases present
in animal venoms from different families. Hyaluronidases can be revealed, following
their electrophoretic separation in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel containing
hyaluronic acid, by incubating the gel in Triton X-100 to remove sodium dodecyl sulfate
and restore in situ enzyme activity. This method allows the detection of as little
as 0.025 turbidity-reducing units after 2 hr incubation. All the hyaluronidases from
the analyzed invertebrate venoms had a mass below 50,000 and showed only one component,
while those from vertebrate venoms were more than 60,000 and in many instances contained
more than one form.