title: Pepsinogens A and C: purification from human gastric mucosa and determination in serum by optimized radioimmunoassays.
abstract: Pepsinogen A and pepsinogen C were purified from human gastric mucosa. The preparations were immunochemically homogeneous and contained only their characteristic components. Specific, sensitive, and reliable radioimmunoassays for both pepsinogen A and pepsinogen C were developed. The concentration of pepsinogens in serum was log distributed. In 144 healthy control subjects the mean level of pepsinogen A (means +/- s) was 65.7 ng/ml (range: 49.8-86.6 ng/ml), significantly higher than the level of pepsinogen C (means = 12.2 ng/ml, range 9.2-16.1 ng/ml, p less than 0.001), with a Pg A/Pg C ratio of 5.8 +/- 2.7. In contrast, pepsinogen C was predominant in the serum of 26 patients with pernicious anemia. Since the mean level of the proenzyme (means = 10.2 ng/ml, range 7.7-13.4 ng/ml) did not differ (p greater than 0.05) from that of the control group, whereas the concentration of pepsinogen A was significantly lower (means = 6.1 ng/ml, range 3.7-9.5 ng/ml, p less than 0.001), the Pg A/Pg C ratio dropped to 0.6 +/- 0.3 (p less than 0.001). In 27 patients with total gastrectomy the levels of both pepsinogen A (means = 2.5 ng/ml, range 2.2-2.8 ng/ml) and pepsinogen C (means = 1.9 ng/ml, range 1.3-2.9 ng/ml) were significantly lower (p less than 0.001) than in patients with pernicious anemia. The results indicate that the stomach is the main source of serum pepsinogens, that under normal conditions the gastric chief cells release more pepsinogen A than pepsinogen C, and that only small amounts of the proenzymes originate from extragastric tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Hengels
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Strohmeyer
mesh_terms: D000752:Anemia, Pernicious / Q000201:enzymology; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000601:surgery; D004792:Enzyme Precursors / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005743:Gastrectomy; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010435:Pepsinogens / Q000097:blood* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
chemical_list: D004792:Enzyme Precursors; D007527:Isoenzymes; D010435:Pepsinogens