This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, specifically those glycosidases that hydrolyse O- and S-glycosyl compounds. The systematic name of this enzyme class is α-L-fucoside fucohydrolase. This enzyme is also called α-fucosidase. It participates in N-glycan degradation and glycan structure degradation.
As of late 2007, 3 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes 1HL8, 1HL9, and 1ODU.
Human medical studies
It was in a recent study by Endreffy, Bjørklund and collaborators (2017) found an association between the activity of α-L-fucosidase-1 (FUCA-1) and chronic autoimmune disorders in children.[1] This should encourage further research on FUCA-1 as a marker of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.
^Endreffy I, Bjørklund G, Szerafin L, Urbina MA, Chirumbolo S, Endreffy E. Plasma alpha-L-fucosidase activity in chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders in a pediatric cohort of hospitalized patients. Immunologic Research 2017. doi: 10.1007/s12026-017-8943-x.