P. L. DeAngelis investigated the hyaluronan synthase of Pasteurella multocida, a bacterium that produces an external hyaluronic acid capsule. A 1996 study measured the enzyme's activity in cell-free membrane preparations using the activated sugar donors UDP-glucuronic acid and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. These provide the two alternating residues of hyaluronic acid.[ref]
Enzymological characterization of the Pasteurella multocida hyaluronic acid synthase by P. L. DeAngelis. Primary PMID 8703949, Abstract; Biochemistry 35, 9768–9771, 1996; DOI 10.1021/bi960154k
Changing the available metal ions changed incorporation into the growing polysaccharide. The enzyme could use magnesium or manganese ions, but their effects differed from those reported for a related bacterial hyaluronan synthase. Thus the name of the product does not fully specify the best reaction conditions. Varying the substrates and ions turns the proposed two-sugar synthesis into a quantitative assay of an individual enzyme preparation.[ref]
Enzymological characterization of the Pasteurella multocida hyaluronic acid synthase by P. L. DeAngelis. Abstract: UDP-sugar dependence, magnesium/manganese comparison and differing kinetic optima
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