Many pathogenic microorganisms invade mammalian and/or plant cells by producing polysaccharide-degrading enzymes (lyases and hydrolases). Mammalian glycosaminoglycans and plant pectins that form part of the cell surface matrix are typical targets for these microbial enzymes. Unsaturated glycoside hydrolase catalyzes the hydrolytic release of an unsaturated uronic acid from oligosaccharides, which are produced through the reaction of matrix-degrading polysaccharide lyase. This enzymatic ability suggests that unsaturated glycoside hydrolases function as virulence factors in microbial infection. This review focuses on the molecular identification, bacterial distribution, and structure/function relationships of these enzymes. In contrast to general glycoside hydrolases, in which the catalytic mechanism involves the retention or inversion of an anomeric configuration, unsaturated glycoside hydrolases uniquely trigger the hydrolysis of vinyl ether groups in unsaturated saccharides but not of their glycosidic bonds. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(4):233-243
