title: Longitudinal variation in the activities of mucosal enzymes in the small intestine of suckling rats.
abstract: The extent of positional variation in mucosal enzyme activity along the small intestine was investigated in 14-day-old suckling rats. Samples were taken from ten equally spaced sites along the intestine in 11 rat pups and the activities of the enzymes alkaline phosphatase, neutral aminopeptidase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, lactase and sucrase were measured. All the enzymes except sucrase were subject to considerable positional variation. Alkaline phosphatase and aminopeptidase activities were distributed throughout the intestine, with a broad maximum in the distal intestine. Lactase was also broadly distributed but with greatest activity in the mid intestine. gamma-glutamyl transferase exhibited a novel profile, with a very high proportion of the total activity (78%) present in the distal intestine. Sucrase was essentially absent throughout the intestine.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Department, Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lobley
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Burrows
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Pemberton
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Bradbury
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Smart
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000201:enzymology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000201:enzymology*; D043322:Lactase; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013393:Sucrase / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000032:analysis; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D043322:Lactase; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D013393:Sucrase; D000626:Aminopeptidases