Hyaluronidases (HAse) are a group of enzymes that degrade Hyaluronan (HA), a linear polysaccharide comprised of a repeating disaccharide of N-acetylglucosamine and D-glucuronic acid. HA is involved in many biological processes including structural support, cell migration and tissue turnover. Hyaluronidases are involved in several pathological processes such as bacterial pathogenesis, the spreading of toxins/venoms and cancer progression, making hyaluronidases a potential pharmacological target. 6-O-Palmitoyl-L-ascorbic acid (Vcpal) is a micromolar HAse inhibitor of both bacterial and mammalian hyaluronidases and it is particularly selective for the Streptococcus agalactiae enzyme.

References

1) A. Botzki, et al. L-Ascorbic Acid 6-Hexadecanoate, a Potent Hyaluronidase Inhibitor: X-ray structure and molecular modeling of enzyme-inhibitor complexes. J. Biol. Chem., 2004, 279, 45990-45997.

2) Spickenreither, M. et al. Novel 6-O-acylated vitamin C derivatives as hyaluronidase inhibitors with selectivity for bacterial lyases. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2006, 16, 5313-5316.