Back to your search result

Description

beta-N-Acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) is a lysosomal enzyme involved in a variety of biological processes such as the degradation of glycoproteins and glycolipids, cell proliferation, and signal transduction. NAG is found in many tissues in the body, but due to its high molecular weight, it cannot be filtered through the glomerular membrane. For this reason, in the presence of tubular damage or a glomerular lesion, urinary NAG activity increases. Elevated NAG levels in urine are an early indication of renal damage, such as injury due to diabetes mellitus, inflammation, nephritic syndrome, urinary tract infection, and more. Various forms of cancer have been associated with increased levels of NAG in serum. Genetically inherited lipid storage disorders, such as Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff disease, arise from deficiencies of the enzyme.