Lysosomal glycohydrolases in normal T and non-T peripheral lymphocytes

The optimal assay conditions and the levels of seven lysosomal glycohydrolases (α-d-galactosidase, β-d-galactosidase, β-d-glucosidase, β-d-glucuronidase, β-N-acetyl-d-glucosaminidase (2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-d-glucoside acetamidodeoxyglucohydrolase), α-d-mannosidase, α-l-fucosidase) were determined in human peripheral unseparated lymphocytes, T and non-T lymphocyte subpopulations. From fifteen adult volunteers the enzymes were assayed by fluorimetric procedures using the corresponding 4-methylumbelliferyl glycosides as substrates. The enzyme assay procedures displayed good precision and reproducibility. All the tested enzymes had higher activities in non-T than T lymphocytes. This difference was statistically highly significant, especially when the enzyme contents were expressed on a DNA, rather than mg protein, basis. Unseparated lymphocytes displayed levels of lysosomal enzymes which corresponded to the proportion of T and non-T lymphocytes in the unseparated preparation, indicating that the process of lymphocyte fractionation caused neither loss nor activation of lysosomal enzymes. It is concluded that the observed difference in lysosomal enzyme levels is an authentic imprint of the two lymphocyte subpopulations, implying a differential role played by the lysosomal apparatus in the same cells.