In enzymology, a N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that catalyzes

Catalysis

Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....

 the chemical reaction

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...

 of cleaving off the 6-sulfate

Sulfate

In inorganic chemistry, a sulfate is a salt of sulfuric acid.-Chemical properties:...

 groups of the N-acetyl-D-galactosamine

Galactosamine

Galactosamine is a hexosamine derived from galactose with the molecular formula C6H13NO5. This amino sugar is a constituent of some glycoprotein hormones such as follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone...

 6-sulfate units of the macromolecule

Macromolecule

A macromolecule is a very large molecule commonly created by some form of polymerization. In biochemistry, the term is applied to the four conventional biopolymers , as well as non-polymeric molecules with large molecular mass such as macrocycles...

 chondroitin

Chondroitin

Chondroitin is a chondrin derivative.Types include:* Chondroitin sulfate* Dermatan sulfate...

 sulfate and, similarly, of the D-galactose

Galactose

Galactose , sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a type of sugar that is less sweet than glucose. It is a C-4 epimer of glucose....

 6-sulfate units of the macromolecule keratan sulfate.

This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolase

Hydrolase

In biochemistry, a hydrolase is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of a chemical bond. For example, an enzyme that catalyzed the following reaction is a hydrolase:-Nomenclature:...

s, specifically those acting on sulfuric ester bonds. The systematic name of this enzyme class is N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-6-sulfate 6-sulfohydrolase. Other names in common use include chondroitin sulfatase, chondroitinase, galactose-6-sulfate sulfatase, acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase, N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase, and N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase. This enzyme participates in glycosaminoglycan

Glycosaminoglycan

Glycosaminoglycans or mucopolysaccharides are long unbranched polysaccharides consisting of a repeating disaccharide unit. The repeating unit consists of a hexose or a hexuronic acid, linked to a hexosamine .-Production:Protein cores made in the rough endoplasmic reticulum are posttranslationally...

 degradation and degradation of glycan structures.