Endoglycoceramidase (EGCase) is a glycolipid-specific hydrolase that cleaves the glycosidic linkage between oligosaccharide and ceramide of various glycosphingolipids (GSLs).
Recombinant EGCase (rEGCase) is activated under a detergent-dependent condition. On the other hand, Activator II is capable of inducing activity of EGCases without any detergent reagents. By using a combination of EGCases and Activator II, GSLs on cell surfaces of living cells could be hydrolyzed without cell disruption caused by detergent.