To probe the potential for extracellular degradation of glycoprotein oligosaccharides in conjunction with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell culture, an initial characterization of several CHO cell glycosidases was performed using 4-methylumbelliferyl substrates. CHO cell lysates contained sialidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-hexosaminidase, and fucosidase activities with pH optimums near 5.5, 4, 6, and 6.5, respectively. These glycosidase activities were also present in cell-free supernatant samples from commercial CHO cell cultures. The sialidase activity was further characterized. In contrast to previous reports concerning mammalian sialidases, the sialidase activity in CHO cell lysate retained considerable activity at pH 7 and was very stable, with a half-life of 57 h at 37 degrees C. Both the Km and Vmax of CHO lysate sialidase for 2'-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid (4MU-NeuAc) varied with pH, and this activity was competitively inhibited by 2,3-dehydro-2-deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acid and by free N-acetylneuraminic acid. The kinetic characteristics and pH-activity profiles of the CHO cell lysate and cell culture supernatant sialidase activities were essentially identical, and both released sialic acid from the glycoprotein fetuin at pH 7.5. These results suggest that the oligosaccharides of glycoproteins secreted by CHO cells can potentially be modified extracellularly by sialidase under culture conditions which promote the release and extracellular accumulation of this enzyme.