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A selective decline of postheparin plasma hepatic triglyceride lipase in hypothyroid rats.

The present study aimed to define the effect of thyroid status on two postheparin plasma lipases, i.e., lipoprotein lipase and hepatic triglyceride lipase. Rats with hypo- and hyperthyroidism were used for this purpose. Separate measurement of these two lipases was done by an immunochemical method utilizing antiserum specific to hepatic triglyceride lipase. The 5-wk thyroidectomized, hypothyroid rats had normal plasma concentrations of both triglyceride and cholesterol. These rats showed a selective decline in the activity of postheparin plasma hepatic triglyceride lipase with normal lipoprotein lipase activity. The rats made thyrotoxic by thyroxine treatment had normal plasma levels of both triglyceride and cholesterol. These rats showed normal activities of both hepatic triglyceride lipase and lipoprotein lipase. The observed finding of a selective decline of hepatic triglyceride lipase in hypothyroid rats is discussed in connection with the possible function of this enzyme in lipoprotein metabolism.

Animals↗

Pathogenic roles of post-heparin lipases in lipid abnormalities in hemodialysis patients.

The relative roles of hepatic lipase and lipoprotein lipase in the pathogenesis of uremic lipid abnormalities were studied in 92 hemodialysis patients. Fasting serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol concentrations were measured. Plasma lipoprotein electrophoretic patterns were determined in all patients. Hepatic lipase and lipoprotein lipase activities were selectively measured in post-heparin plasma in 59 patients. Hemodialysis patients had higher serum triglyceride and lower HDL-cholesterol concentrations than did their age and sex-matched control subjects. Both hepatic and lipoprotein lipase activities were reduced in hemodialysis patients. An inverse relation between lipoprotein lipase activities and serum triglyceride concentrations emerged. Lipoprotein lipase activities correlated with in vivo post-heparin fractional clearance rates of Intralipid. A positive correlation between lipoprotein lipase activities and HDL-cholesterol concentrations probably reflected impaired catabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins being responsible for the low HDL-cholesterol concentrations. Hemodialysis patients (41.3%) had an abnormal lipoprotein (the 'mid-band'). While hepatic lipase activities did not correlate with any parameters of lipid metabolism, patients with 'low' hepatic lipase activities had a significantly higher prevalence of 'mid-bands' than did those with 'normal' activities. No evidence was developed to prove that the 'mid-band' lipoproteins were remnant particles.

Adolescent↗

Post-heparin triacylglycerol lipases in ovine plasma.

Lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase have been shown to be present in the post-heparin plasma of sheep. Intravenous injection of heparin into sheep produced a rapid increase in the free fatty acid concentration and lipolytic enzyme activity of the plasma, both peaking within 5-15 min and then falling to pre-heparin levels within 30-60 min. Lipolytic activity was not detected in plasma before heparin treatment. Two distinct lipolytic activities were separated from the plasma by chromatography on heparin-Sepharose 6B. Lipoprotein lipase was identified on the basis that the lipolytic activity was dependent upon the addition of plasma, inhibited by 1M NaCl, and inhibited by a specific antiserum against lipoprotein lipase. The second lipolytic activity of plasma was identified as hepatic lipase, as it was not dependent upon plasma for activity, nor was it inhibited by 1M NaCl or antiserum against lipoprotein lipase. Its properties were identical to the lipase extracted from the liver of sheep. Lipoprotein-lipase activity, but not hepatic-lipase activity, was dependent upon the nutritional state of the sheep at the time of heparin injection. However, hepatic lipase comprised a significant proportion of the total lipolytic activity.

Animals↗

Release of volatile branched-chain and other fatty acids from ruminant milk fats by various lipases.

Bovine, ovine, and caprine milk fats were treated with pregastric lipases (kid goat, calf, and lamb), microbial lipases (Candida cylindracea, C. cylindracea AY30, Aspergillus niger APF12, Rhizopus arrhizus, Penicillium roqueforti R10, and Mucor zavanicus Map 10), porcine pancreatic lipase, or milk lipase. All three pregastric lipases preferentially hydrolyzed volatile branched-chain and short n-chain fatty acids from each milk fat. Pregastric lipases also released a relatively low proportion of C10 from bovine milk fats but a high proportion of C10 from caprine milk fat. Milk lipase released very low concentrations of butanoic acid and did not release 4-methyloctanoic acid in significant amounts except from caprine milk fat. Ovine milk fat yielded a substantially greater concentration of butanoic acid than did bovine or caprine milk fats when it was hydrolyzed by porcine pancreatic lipase. Candida cylindracea lipase yielded high amounts of volatile n-chain fatty acids nonselectively and only small quantities of volatile branched-chain fatty acids. High amounts of the medium-chain branched fatty acids were produced by kid goat, P. roqueforti, A. niger, and R. arrhizus lipases.

Animals↗

Characterization of the lipolytic activity of endothelial lipase.

Endothelial lipase (EL) is a new member of the triglyceride lipase gene family previously reported to have phospholipase activity. Using radiolabeled lipid substrates, we characterized the lipolytic activity of this enzyme in comparison to lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic lipase (HL) using conditioned medium from cells infected with recombinant adenoviruses encoding each of the enzymes. In the absence of serum, EL had clearly detectable triglyceride lipase activity. Both the triglyceride lipase and phospholipase activities of EL were inhibited in a dose-dependent fashion by the addition of serum. The ratio of triglyceride lipase to phospholipase activity of EL was 0.65, compared with ratios of 24.1 for HL and 139.9 for LPL, placing EL at the opposite end of the lipolytic spectrum from LPL. Neither lipase activity of EL was influenced by the addition of apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II), indicating that EL, like HL, does not require apoC-II for activation. Like LPL but not HL, both lipase activities of EL were inhibited by 1 M NaCl. The relative ability of EL, versus HL and LPL, to hydrolyze lipids in isolated lipoprotein fractions was also examined using generation of FFAs as an end point. As expected, based on the relative triglyceride lipase activities of the three enzymes, the triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, chylomicrons, VLDL, and IDL, were efficiently hydrolyzed by LPL and HL. EL hydrolyzed HDL more efficiently than the other lipoprotein fractions, and LDL was a poor substrate for all of the enzymes.

Apolipoprotein C-II↗

Measurement of two plasma triglyceride lipases by an immunochemical method: studies in patients with hypertriglyceridemia.

Postheparin plasma lipolytic activity consists of two hydrolytic activities, hepatic triglyceride lipase and lipoprotein lipase. These two enzymes were separated and partially purified by means of ammonium sulfate precipitation and affinity chromatography using Sepharose with covalently linked heparin and concanavalin A, respectively. Antibodies were produced against hepatic triglyceride lipase and they did not cross react with lipoprotein lipase. Optimal conditions for selective precipitation of hepatic lipase and specific measurement of these two lipases were investigated. This method was applied to the study of 15 patients with hypertriglyceridemia and 8 patients with familial lecithin-cholesterol-acyltransferase deficiency of whom 6 also had a marked elevated plasma triglyceride concentration. All patients had normal values of hepatic plasma lipase. All 8 patients with Type I and 2 of 4 patients with Type V hyperlipoproteinemia had lipoprotein lipase activities that were markedly reduced. The patients with Type III hyperlipoproteinemia and all 8 patients with lecithin-cholesterol-acyltransferase deficiency also had normal lipoprotein lipase values. These studies emphasize the necessity for differentiating between triglyceride lipase activity of hepatic and extrahepatic origin in evaluating patients with impaired triglyceride metabolism.

Acyltransferases↗

New fluorogenic triacylglycerol analogs as substrates for the determination and chiral discrimination of lipase activities.

A new type of fluorogenic and isomerically pure 1(3)-O-alkyl-2,3 (3,2)-diacyl glycerols was synthesized that can be used as substrate for the determination of lipase activities. These compounds contain a fluorescent pyrene acyl chain and, as a potent quencher of pyrene fluorescence, a trinitrophenylamino acyl residue. In their intact form, the fluorogens show only low fluorescence intensity. Upon lipase-induced or chemical hydrolysis of the substrates, however, the fluorophore and quencher separate from each other. This leads to a gradual increase in pyrene fluorescence, reflecting the time-dependent progress of lipolysis and, under substrate saturation conditions, lipase activity. This lipase assay is continuous and does not require separation of substrate and reaction products. Short- and long-chain homologues as well as optical isomers of the fluorogenic alkyldiacyl glycerols were hydrolyzed by pancreatic lipase, hepatic lipase, and lipo-protein lipase at highly different rates depending on the substrate or enzyme preparation and source (e.g., postheparin plasma or cultured cells). It is proposed that a useful set of enantiomeric and/or homologous substrates in combination with appropriate reaction media might be applied to the selective determination of a lipase in a mixture of lipases, e.g., hepatic and lipoprotein lipase in PHP, for medical diagnostics.

Animals↗

Identification of a triacylglycerol lipase gene family in Candida deformans: molecular cloning and functional expression.

The yeast Candida deformans CBS 2071 produces an extracellular lipase which was shown to catalyse the production of various esters by the esterification of free fatty acids, even in the presence of a large molar excess of water. To clone the gene encoding this extracellular lipase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae was transformed with C. deformans genomic libraries and screened for lipolytic activity on a medium containing rapeseed oil emulsion and rhodamine B. Three members of a lipase gene family (CdLIP1, CdLIP2 and CdLIP3) were cloned and characterized. Each deduced lipase sequence has a Gly-His-Ser-Leu-Gly-(Gly/Ala)-Ala conserved motif, eight cysteine residues and encodes an N-terminal signal sequence. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis of a proteolytic digest of the lipase produced was used to obtain experimental evidence that the CdLIP1 gene encoded the extracellular lipase. Recombinant expression studies confirmed that the cloned genes encoded functional lipases. The three lipases are very similar to lipases from the related species Yarrowia lipolytica. Significant homologies were also found with several yeast and fungal lipases. As C. deformans CBS 2071 was previously considered to be synonymous with Y. lipolytica, the strains were compared for the extent of nucleotide divergence in the variable regions (D1/D2) at the 5'-end of the large-subunit (26S) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene. This rDNA region has diverged sufficiently to suggest that C. deformans is a separate species. The nucleotide sequences of the CdLIP1, CdLIP2 and CdLIP3 genes will appear in the EMBL nucleotide sequence database under Accession Nos AJ428393, AJ428394 and AJ428395, respectively.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

The Drosophila melanogaster lipase homologs: a gene family with tissue and developmental specific expression.

We report the molecular cloning of Drosophila genes encoding putative lipase homologs, Dm lip1, lip2 and lip3, the definition of their structure and the expression patterns during development. These Drosophila lipases are related to acid lipases, with a common GHSQG motif, within a more general consensus GXSXG, identified as the active site shared by all the members of lipase superfamily. The lip1 and lip3 genes are transcribed in different tissues and developmental stages, suggesting that they have different functions. The lip1 gene, coding for a protein similar to digestive lipases, is expressed in ovaries and early embryos and, with a different sized transcript, in all the other developmental stages. The lip3 gene, whose translation product is more similar to lysosomal acid lipases, is expressed only during the larval period. The lip2 gene seems non-functional. The Drosophila putative lipases do not show similarity with the Drosophila yolk proteins that are reported to have sequence similarity with lipoprotein lipases, but share a consistent similarity with lepidopteran proteins reported as egg specific or yolk proteins, probably corresponding to lipase homologs. The results reported here are discussed in relation to the evolution and functions of lipases within the between species.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Lipoprotein lipase activity and its relationship to high milk fat transfer during lactation in grey seals.

Lipoprotein lipase regulates the hydrolysis of circulating triglyceride and the uptake of fatty acids by most tissues, including the mammary gland and adipose tissue. Thus, lipoprotein lipase is critical for the uptake and secretion of the long-chain fatty acids in milk and for the assimilation of a high-fat milk diet by suckling young. In the lactating female, lipoprotein lipase appears to be regulated such that levels in adipose tissue are almost completely depressed while those in the mammary gland are high. Thus, circulating fatty acids are directed to the mammary gland for milk fat production. Phocid seals serve as excellent models in the study of lipoprotein lipase and fat transfer during lactation because mothers may fast completely while secreting large quantities of high fat milks and pups deposit large amounts of fat as blubber. We measured pup body composition and milk fat intake by isotope (deuterium oxide) dilution and plasma post-heparin lipoprotein lipase activity in six grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) mother-pup pairs at birth and again late in the 16-day lactation period. Maternal post-heparin lipoprotein lipase activity increased by an average of four-fold by late lactation (P = 0.027), which paralleled an increase in milk fat concentration (from 38 to 56%; P = 0.043). Increasing lipoprotein lipase activity was correlated with increasing milk fat output (1.3-2.1 kg fat per day) over lactation (P = 0.019). Maternal plasma triglyceride (during fasting) was inversely correlated to lipoprotein lipase activity (P = 0.027) and may be associated with the direct incorporation of long-chain fatty acids from blubber into milk. In pups, post-heparin lipoprotein lipase activity was already high at birth and increased as total body fat content (P = 0.028) and the ratio of body fat: protein increased (P = 0.036) during lactation. Although pup plasma triglyceride increased with increasing daily milk fat intake (P = 0.023), pups effectively cleared lipid from the circulation and deposited 70% of milk fat consumed throughout lactation. Lipoprotein lipase may play an important role in the mechanisms involved with the extraordinary rates of fat transfer in phocid seals.

Animals↗

Lipase activity from strains of Pasteurella multocida.

Thirteen clinical isolates of Pasteurella multocida from a variety of different animals and humans were examined for their ability to produce lipase. Lipase substrates used included Tween 20, Tween 40, Tween 80, and Tween 85. Lipase activity was detected in the filtrates of organisms grown to the exponential phase in Roswell Park Memorial Institute-1640 defined media (RPMI-1640), but activity increased in the filtrates when the cultures were allowed to proceed to the stationary phase. All strains examined (except for serotype 2) showed lipase activity against at least one of the Tweens. Tween 40 was the best substrate to demonstrate lipase activity. Pasteurella multocida serotype 8 produced the most active lipase against Tween 40 (3,561.7 units of activity/microgram of protein). This activity continued to increase after P. multocida entered a stationary growth phase. P. multocida lipase activity was optimal at pH 8.0. Lipase activity of P. multocida serotype 8 was eluted from a Sepharose 2B column at several points, indicating that several lipases may be produced in vitro by this organism. These data demonstrate that clinical isolates of P. multocida produce lipase; therefore, this enzyme should be considered a potential virulence factors for this organism.

Animals↗

Biochemical and structural characterization of triacylglycerol lipase from Penicillium cyclopium.

An extracellular lipase, active on water-insoluble triacylglycerols, has been isolated from Penicillium cyclopium. The purified enzyme has a molecular mass of 29 kDa by gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It hydrolyzes emulsions of tributyrin, trioctanoin, and olive oil at the same rate as pancreatic lipase and shows very low activity against partial acylglycerols (monooctanoin and dioctanoin) and methyl esters. It is stable at 35 degrees C for 60 min and has maximal activity in a pH range of 8-10. Hydrolysis of triacylglycerols by P. cyclopium lipase is inhibited by detergents such as Triton X-100. Comparison of the sequence of the 20 first amino acid residues of P. cyclopium triacylglycerol lipase with other Penicillium lipases indicates a high homology with previously characterized lipases produced by P. expansum and P. solitum which are enzymes of comparable size and substrate specificity. Conversely, homology between P. cyclopium lipase and P. simplicissimum lipase, a nonspecific lipolytic enzyme, is low. Penicillium cyclopium triacylglycerol lipase shows no homology with P. camembertii lipase which is specific to monoacylglycerol and diacylglycerol.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Wax ester-synthesizing activity of lipases.

The synthesis/hydrolysis of wax esters was studied in an aqueous solution using purified rat pancreatic lipase, porcine pancreatic carboxylester lipase, and Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase. The equilibrium between wax ester synthesis and hydrolysis favored ester formation at neutral pH. The synthesizing activities were measured using free fatty acid or triacylglycerol as the acyl donor and an equimolar amount of long-chain alcohol as the acyl acceptor. When oleic acid and hexadecanol emulsified with gum arabic were incubated with these lipases, wax ester was synthesized, in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the apparent equilibrium ratio of palmityl oleate/free oleic acid was about 0.9/0.1. These lipases catalyzed the hydrolysis of palmityl oleate emulsified with gum arabic, and the apparent equilibrium ratio of palmityl oleate/free oleic acid was also about 0.9/0.1. The apparent equilibrium ratio of wax ester/free fatty acid catalyzed by lipase depended on incubation pH and fatty alcohol chain length. When equimolar amounts of trioleoylglycerol and fatty acyl alcohol were incubated with pancreatic lipase, carboxylester lipase, or P. fluorescens lipase, wax esters were synthesized dose-dependently. These results suggest that lipases can catalyze the synthesis of wax esters from free fatty acids or through degradation of triacylglycerol in an aqueous medium.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Regulation of lipoprotein lipase immunological study of adipose tissue.

An antibody to purified rat heart lipoprotein lipase was used to determine the relative specific activities of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase from fed and fasted rats. The antibody was immobilized by coupling it to a Sepharose gel. This antibody bound approx. 80% of the lipoprotein lipase activity of extracts of rat adipose tissue. When the extracts were separated by gel chromatography into two lipase activity fractions (lipoprotein lipase "a" and lipoprotein lipase "b") and these fractions incubated with the antibody, only 10% of the lipoprotein lipase "a" activity was bound by the highest antibody concentration employed, whereas 93% of the lipoprotein lipase "b" was bound by the same amount of antibody. Increasing amounts of antibody incubated with extracts of adipose tissue of fed or fasted rats yielded similar titration curves. When a constant amount of antibody was incubated with increasing amounts of the adipose extracts, no significant difference was noted between extracts from fed and fasted animals. The data indicate that the high lipoprotein lipase activity of adipose tissue of fed rats, compared with that of rats fasted overnight, results from the presence of more lipoprotein lipase protein.

Adipose Tissue↗

Gastric lipolysis in the developing rat. Ontogeny of the lipases active in the stomach.

The first step in fat digestion occurs in the stomach, where 10-30% of dietary triacylglycerols are hydrolyzed to partial (di- and mono-) acylglycerols and free fatty acids. Preduodenal fat digestion is an important compensatory mechanism in the newborn because of immature pancreatic (lipase) and hepatic (bile acid synthesis) function. Since hydrolysis of fat in the stomach can be catalyzed by enzymes of lingual (Hamosh, M. (1979) Pediatr. Res. 13, 615-622) and possibly gastric origin, we have studied the developmental pattern and quantitative contribution of these two enzymes to intragastric fat digestion by measuring lipase activity in homogenates of lingual glands and gastric mucosa of rats from birth until 60 days of age. Total lipolytic activity in rat gastric mucosa was only 2-10% of that in the lingual glands throughout the entire period studied. Lingual lipase activity increased steadily from birth until day 50, whereas the activity in the gastric mucosa reached peak levels at 17-20 days and declined sharply after weaning. Throughout the period of study--suckling, weaning, and young adulthood--lingual and gastric lipase had very similar characteristics: pH optimum in the range of 5.0-6.0 and 2.5-5.0-fold higher activity on medium-chain (tri[14C]octanoin) than long-chain (tri[3H]olein) triacylglycerols. In the lingual glands, lipase activity was higher during fasting, probably because of accumulation of enzyme (without depletion during meals), whereas in the gastric mucosa lipase levels were higher after feeding, suggesting adsorption of lingual lipase (which reaches the stomach with the ingested food) onto the gastric mucosa. From birth to weaning, there was rapid and extensive hydrolysis of triacylglycerol in the stomach (decrease from 98 mol% in rat milk to 33.6-48.9 mol% in the stomach contents half an hour after feeding). The intragastric lipolysis remained almost constant from birth until day 20, in spite of a marked increase in food consumption, probably because of the continued rise of lingual lipase levels. The direct relationship between high intragastric lipolysis and high lingual lipase activity suggests that lingual lipase is the major digestive enzyme in the newborn.

Aging↗

Modulation of lipoprotein lipase in the intact rat by cholera toxin--an irreversible agonist of cyclic AMP.

Rats were injected intravenously with cholera toxin, a potent stimulator of adenylate cyclase, and lipoprotein lipase was determined in various organs and plasma. 16 h after cholera toxin injection, lipoprotein lipase activity increased 2-6-fold in heart, diaphragm and lung and decreased to one-third in adipose tissue. An increase in lipoprotein lipase activity was seen in the plasma and in the liver, as determined by antiserum to lipoprotein lipase. The increase in heart lipoprotein lipase was preceded by a rise in cyclic AMP and continued for 24 h when cyclic AMP returned to base-line levels. Both heparin-releasable and residual lipoprotein lipase increased in the heart, but to an unequal extent. The more pronounced rise in residual activity (up to 10-fold) could have contributed to an increase in the t1/2 of heart lipoprotein lipase from 1.5 to 2.6 h. The relatively lower increase in heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase could have been due to a loss of the enzyme from this compartment into the circulation. The effect of cholera toxin on heart and adipose tissue lipoprotien lipase was observed in fasted, fed and super-fed animals and thus appears to be independent of the nutritional state of the animal. Since cholera toxin not only mimics hormonal stimulation, but causes an exaggerated response to hormones, it made studies on some aspects of regulation of both the functional and storage forms of lipoprotein lipase in the intact organism possible.

Adipose Tissue↗

Effect of monolayer lipid structure and composition on the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of triacylglycerol.

The effect of lipid composition and structure on the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of triacylglycerols was determined in a monolayer system consisting of purified bovine milk lipoprotein lipase and fatty acid-free albumin. In a monolayer of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine containing 1-6 mol% of either tri[14C]oleoylglycerol or tri[14C] palmitoylglycerol , lipoprotein lipase catalyzed the hydrolysis of the unsaturated triacylglycerol at a higher rate than the saturated lipid and in either the presence or absence of apolipoprotein C-II, the activator protein for the enzyme. For example, with 3 mol% triacylglycerol and in the presence of apolipoprotein C-II, the rate of the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of tri[14C]oleoylglycerol was 27 mumol oleic acid produced/h per mg enzyme vs. 12 mumol for tri[14C] palmitoylglycerol . The effect of phospholipid fatty acyl chain length and unsaturation/saturation, polar head group and surface density on the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of tri[14C]oleoylglycerol was determined. The rate of enzyme hydrolysis of triacylglycerol was similar whether the phospholipid was a diester or diether lipid or the polar head group was ethanolamine or choline. In general, phospholipids with shorter and unsaturated fatty acyl chains gave higher rates of lipoprotein lipase hydrolysis of triacylglycerol than the corresponding longer and saturated lipids. However, with all phospholipids tested, the rate of enzyme hydrolysis decreased with increasing surface density. Lipoprotein lipase showed no activity toward triacylglycerol in a monolayer of sphingomyelin; addition of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine to the monolayer enhanced the rate of enzyme catalysis. Cholesterol (50 mol%) in a dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine monolayer increased the rate of the lipoprotein lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of tri[14C]oleoylglycerol, whereas cholesterol decreased the rate in a dioleoylphosphatidylcholine monolayer. The effect of phospholipid structure and surface density on lipoprotein lipase activity could not be accounted for by the amount of apolipoprotein C-II which was present at the interface. Based on these findings and other reports in the literature, we suggest that the catalytic activity of lipoprotein lipase toward tri[14C] oleylglycerol in various monolayers is dependent on the conformation or appropriate physical state of the triacylglycerol substrate at the lipid interface.

Animals↗

Lipase and pepsin activity in the gastric mucosa of infants, children, and adults.

The range of activity and the location of lipase and pepsin were determined in the stomach and duodenum of infants, children, and adults. The range of lipase activity in biopsy specimens from the gastric body, in 29 subjects aged from 3 months to 26 years, was 1.8-5.3 U/mg protein (1 U is 1 mumol [3H]oleic acid released from tri-[3H]olein per minute). There were no significant differences among age groups (5-19 months, 2-4 years, 6-10 years, 11-13 years, and 15-26 years). Lipase activity was low or undetectable in the gastric antrum of all subjects. Pepsin activity in specimens from the gastric body ranged from 180 to 780 pepsin units/mg protein (using hemoglobin as substrate). The antrum had significantly lower pepsin activity (P less than 0.001) than the gastric body. As with lipase activity, there were no statistically significant differences in pepsin activity among age groups. Lipase and pepsin activity was also quantified in pinch biopsy specimens from the duodenum and duodenal bulb in 13 subjects. Contrary to lipase activity, which was almost completely absent from the duodenum or duodenal bulb, these sites contained low pepsin activity (9-78 pepsin units/mg protein). The data show that in infants and children, as previously reported in adults, gastric lipase is localized primarily in the gastric body. Tissue pepsin levels and localization, reported here for the first time, are similar to those of lipase, although, contrary to lipase, the gastric antrum has considerable pepsin activity. The identical levels of lipase and pepsin activities in infants, children, and adults indicate that the gastric phase of nutrient digestion is well developed at birth.

Adolescent↗