Patent ID: 7888072

Claim:
A method of specifically cleaving heparin or heparan sulfate, comprising: selecting a B. thetaiotaomicron HSGAG lyase polypeptide II, or functional fragments thereof, that cleaves a heparin or heparin sulfate such that anti-Xa activity is maintained or increased and anti-IIa activity is reduced as compared to the anti-Xa activity and anti-IIa activity of the heparin or heparan sulfate cleaved with heparinase III from Flavobacterium heparinum , wherein the B. thetaiotaomicron HSGAG lyase II polypeptide, or functional fragment thereof, comprises a) an amino acid sequence which is at least 95% identical to the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6; b) the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6, 8, or 10; and c) an amino acid sequence which differs by at least 1 amino acid but not more than 15 amino acids from the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:6; and contacting the heparin or the heparin sulfate with the B. thetaiotaomicron HSGAG lyase polypeptide II, to thereby cleave the heparin or heparan sulfate.