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Biomedical subjects

W D Heizer

Publications and source records attributed to W D Heizer.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Intestinal brush border peptidases: activities in normal and abnormal peroral intestinal biopsy specimens.

Discriminating substrates were used to develop assays that accurately measure the activity of each of four brush border peptidases in peroral jejunal biopsy specimens. Seventy-five biopsy specimens, 43 normal and 32 abnormal, were assayed for aminopeptidase A (EC 3.4.11.7), aminopeptidase N (EC 3.4.11.2), and disaccharidases, and 37 of these were assayed for membrane glycylleucine peptidase and Zn2+-stable aspartyllysine peptidase. Peptidase levels in normal biopsy specimens from males and females did not differ. Only aminopeptidase A levels changed significantly with age. The mean +/- SD units per gram of protein for each enzyme in peroral biopsy specimens of normal intestine were aminopeptidase A 1.7 +/- 0.7 for children and 3.1 +/- 1.3 for adults, membrane glycylleucine peptidase 16.3 +/- 10.6, aminopeptidase N 35.5 +/- 13.2, and Zn2+-stable aspartyllysine peptidase 42.6 +/- 28.5. In abnormal biopsy specimens, levels of three of the peptidases and the disaccharidases were significantly decreased, 37% to 51%. In contrast, aminopeptidase N activity was decreased only 7% in the abnormal biopsy specimens. These results provide a basis for further studies investigating the role of brush border peptidases in normal digestion and various pathologic states, including the search for individuals with brush border peptidase deficiencies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Use of plasma somatomedin-C/insulin-like growth factor I measurements to monitor the response to nutritional repletion in malnourished patients.

Changes in plasma somatomedia-C/insulin-like growth factor I (Sm-C/IGF-I) concentrations are a sensitive indicator of the anabolic response of normal human volunteers to alterations in nutritional intake. To determine if measurement of this peptide could be used to monitor the response to nutritional repletion in malnourished patients, six patients were studied while receiving nutritional support for periods of 10-16 days. Plasma Sm-C/IGF-I increased from a mean basal level of 0.67 +/- 0.15 U/ml (+/-1 SD) to a peak of 1.80 +/- 0.44 U/ml on day 10, then declined to a concentration of 1.28 +/- 0.49 U/ml by day 16. All patients entered positive nitrogen balance by day 2 and nitrogen accretion continued throughout the study. Changes in serum concentrations of prealbumin, transferrin, and retinol-binding protein were compared to changes in Sm-C/IGF-I during nutritional support. Prealbumin increased to a posttreatment mean of 121 +/- 23% of control by the end of the study (p greater than 0.05, NS). Likewise, there was minimal change in retinol-binding protein, a peak value of 118 +/- 21% of control being reached by day 12 of treatment (p greater than 0.05, NS). Transferrin also showed minimal change, increasing to a mean value of 110% +/- 13% of control by day 12 (p greater than 0.05, NS). Measurement of plasma Sm-C/IGF-I concentrations appears to be a much more sensitive index of acute directional changes in nutritional status than other plasma proteins commonly used to monitor nutritional responses. The increase of Sm-C/IGF-I correlated temporally with entry into positive nitrogen balance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Uptake of the components of phenylalanylphenylalanine and maltose by intestinal epithelium.

The observed rate of phenylalanine absorption into rat intestinal rings with 0.5 or 5.0 mM phenylalanine is greater than that for absorption of phenylalanine from 0.25 or 2.5 mM Phe-Phe, respectively. With the amino acid phenylalanine, V for absorption is the same whether Na+ is present (149 mM) or absent, but the concentration at which the half-maximal transport rate occurred (Kt) is greater in the absence of Na+. For Phe-Phe, the V decreases in the absence of Na+ whilst Kt is not influenced by the Na+ concentration. The different effect of Na+ on Phe and Phe-Phe transport indicates that the absorptive mechanism for Phe-Phe is different from that for phenylalanine. Absorption of a mixture of [U-14C]Phe-[he and Phe-[G-3H]Phe showed identical rates of uptake of the carboxyl and amino terminal amino acids. Studies of transport of radioactive maltose showed that the rates of uptake of the reducing and non-reducing glucosyl moieties are identical. Radioactive maltose absorption is not inhibited by glucose oxidase. These results provide evidence that in intestinal epithelium, hydrolysis of Phe-Phe and maltose does not occur on the cell surface with release of the hydrolyzed products to the medium. Rather, hydrolysis and release of the reaction products occur at a point on the cytosol side of a diffusion barrier located in the brush border membrane.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Normal and abnormal intestinal absorption by humans.

Adults eating a Western diet digest and absorb ingested food containing approximately 100 g fat, 350 g carbohydrate, and 75 g protein daily. Normal fat absorption requires adequate gastric, pancreatic, liver-biliary, mucosal, and lymphatic function. Carbohydrate and protein absorption is much less dependent on liver-biliary and lymphatic function. The intestine has a large reserve capacity for digestion and absorption of nutrients which is due to both excess function and to adaptive changes which increase function in one segment of the digestive-absorptive system when it is decreased or lost in another segment. The large reserve capacity explains why most of the prevalent intestinal diseases seldom cause clinically detectable changes in absorption. However, there are more than 30 less-common human diseases which cause malabsorption of one or more nutrients. Those that cause the malabsorption syndrome, i.e., steatorrhea and weight loss, can be conveniently categorized according to the major deficiency leading to the absorptive defect as follows: insufficient pancreatic enzyme activity, insufficient bile acid, disease of the small intestinal wall, multiple defects, mechanism unknown, and drug-induced malabsorption. A few diseases, most of which are congenital, cause malabsorption of only one or a few related nutrients such as lactose malabsorption in lactase deficiency. Most of the tests currently in use for detecting and diagnosing the cause of malabsorption are relatively insensitive and nonspecific. Chemical analysis of the fat in a three-day stool collection remains the single best test for diagnosing the malabsorption syndrome. However, a breath test using Triolein labeled with either the radioactive or stable isotope of carbon may be an important recent advance. Other breath tests are also currently being investigated for quantitating absorption or malabsorption of various substances including bile acids and various sugars. Studies of the function of the intestinal epithelial cells are usually best accomplished using tissue obtained by per oral biopsy. Biopsy specimens are used for many types of study including light and electron microscopic examination, chemical and enzymatic assays, tissue culture, and uptake of various radiolabeled compounds.

Bile Acids and Salts↗
PubMed1977

Isolation and characterization of four peptide hydrolases from the cytosol of rat intestinal mucosa.

The high speed supernatant fluid prepared from rat intestinal mucosa was subjected to ion-exchange chromatography on diethlaminoethyl-cellulose eluted with a linear gradient of sodium chloride (0 to 0.27 M). Assay of eluted fractions for Phe-Gly hydrolase activity revealed four distinct peaks of enzyme activity. These cytosol enzymes have been designated I, II, III, and IV in order of their elution from the column. Examination of the substrate specificity of the four enzymes by use of 20 mM peptide concentrations indicated the most discriminating substrates for the four enzymes were Leu-Gly-Gly, His-Met, Ser-Phe, and leucine amide, respectively. The mean distribution of the recovered peptide hydrolase activities against these substrates among the four enzymes I, II, III, and IV was 96.1, 1.4, 1.7, and 0.8%, respectively, for Leu-Gly-Gly; 0.6, 96.4, 2.4, and 0.6% for His-Met; 0, 0, 95.8, and 4.2% for Ser-Phe; and 20.8, 19.8, 5.6, and 53.8% for leucine amide. Ion-exchange chromatography resulted in increases in specific activity of 19-, 19-, 46-, and 3.5-fold for enzymes I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The activity of all four enzymes, but especially III and IV, were stabilized by the presence of 150 muM dithioerythritol. Activity of each of the four enzymes was decreased 79 to 100% by 1mM ethylenediaminetetraacetate, HgCl2, 1, 10-phenanthroline, or 0.5 mM p-hydroxymercuribenzoate, except that the activity of enzyme I was decreased only 15% by ethylenediaminetetraacetate. No significant activation of the partially purified enzymes occurred in the presence of 500 muM Zn++, Co++, or Mg++. The four enzymes exhibited distinct pH profiles with optima at 7.5, 7.5, 8.5, and 8.0 for enzymes I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Molecular weights of the four enzymes determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 were 58,500, 74,000, 97,500, and 113,000, respectively. All four enzymes lost more than 85% of their activity after 1 hr at temperatures of 50 degrees C or higher in sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. The Km values determined with the most specific substrates for each enzyme were 0.76, 0.44, 3.82, and 8.3 mM for enzymes I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Recent evidence suggests that a significant amount of some small peptides are absorbed intact and hydrolyzed by cytosol peptide hydrolases. Adequate understanding of the function and control of these intracellular enzymes requires knowledge of the characteristics and substrates specificity of individual enzymes. The study described here demonstrates the presence of at least four cytosol peptide hydrolases with distinct substrate specificities. Substrates almost exclusively hydrolyzed by each of three of the enzymes, and therefore suitable for assay of each of these enzymes in the presence of the others, have been identified.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Parenteral nutrition at home for 5 years via arteriovenous fistulae. Supplemental intravenous feedings for a patient with severe short bowel syndrome.

On March 26, 1970, a 33-year-old male suffered intestinal infarction which required total enterectomy and duodeno-transverse colostomy. Nutrition was maintained in the hospital by daily parenteral feeding for 2 months postoperatively, after which parenteral feedings were decreased and stopped for long periods. Various oral dietary regimens failed to provide adequate nutrition, and the patient lost 40 kg and became severely malnourished during the next 13 months. In June 1971, supplemental home parenteral nutrition (PN) via an arteriovenous fistula was instituted on a 3 or 4 nights per week basis. The patient's weight and strength increased markedly after institution of the home supplemental PN program. The first fistula became occluded after 9.5 months of home PN use and subsequent successive fistulae have remained patent for 31.3, 8.8, and 5.5 months of use. The patient prepares his own PN fluids at home, using a commercial device for filling plastic intravenous fluid bags. Although several different types of fluid have been used, the current mixture of 25% glucose and 2.75% amino acids with added vitamins, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and insulin plus simultaneously administered lipid emulsion has proven most effective. Only when the patient's low fat, low oxalate diet is supplemented with this parenteral mixture 4 nights each week is he in positive nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium balance. However, his negative calcium balance is only partially corrected. There has been no sepsis, embolism, or fistula infection during 5 years of home PN.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Isolation and characterization of four peptide hydrolases from the brush border of rat intestinal mucosa.

Peptide hydrolases (EC 3.4.-.-) were solubilized from purified brush borders of rat intestinal mucosa by papain digestion. Three peptide hydrolases, I, II, and III, with different substrate specificities were isolated by means of DEAE-cellulose chromatography and preparative acrylamide gel electrophoresis. On repeat preparative acrylamide gel electrophoresis under slightly different conditions, enzyme II was resolved into two proteins, IIa and IIb, with vary similar, possibly identical, substrate specificities. Efforts to discover additional brush border peptide hydrolases revealed none. Studies using more than 50 substrates showed that enzyme I was most active against Met-Met, Met-Ala, and Met-Phe while enzyme II was most active against Phe-Gly, Phe-Ser, and Leu-Gly-Gly, and enzyme III most rapidly hydrolyzed Gly-Leu, Leu-Gly, and Met-Gly. Efforts to discover substrates which are highly discriminating for each enzyme were partly successful. Thus, a number of substrates including leucine amide, leucyl-beta-naphthylamide and Phe-Asp were hydrolyzed almost exclusively (95% or more) by enzyme II while Gly-Leu was similarly specific for enzyme III. No substrate highly discriminating for enzyme I was discovered. Ion-exchange chromatography resulted in increases in specific activity of 10- and 120-fold for enzymes II and III, respectively. By sequential use of ion-exchange chromatography and preparative acrylamide gel electrophoresis, each of the three enzymes was partially purified to the point that they were free of contaminating disaccharidases and enzymes I and II gave single dense bands on analytical acrylamide gel electrophoresis while enzyme III gave a single dense band plus one additional faint protein band. Under appropriate conditions, analytical gel electrophoresis also resolved enzyme II into two bands with enzyme activity. The three enzymes were isolated from intestinal brush borders of germ-free rats indicating that none of the enzymes is of bacterial origin. With Phe-Gly as substrate, pH optima for enzymes I, II, and III were 8.0, 8.0, and 8.5, respectively. Molecular weights determined by gel filtration were 283 000, 284 000, and 134 000, respectively. Studies of activation by metal ions and inhibition by metal ion chelators suggested that the activity of each of the enzymes is dependent on a relatively tightly bound metal cofactor. Peptide hydrolases of the intestinal mucosa play an essential role in protein digestion. The studies presented here help to clarify the total number and substrate specificities of these enzymes in the rat brush border.

Animals↗
PubMed1969

Peptide hydrolase activities of the mucosa of human small intestine.

Few studies have been published on peptide hydrolase activities of human small intestine mucosa. We developed methods to screen tissue extracts for such enzymes and to quantitate hydrolase activities for dipeptides containing the aromatic amino acid L-phenylalanine. The screening procedure indicated glycyl-L-proline hydrolase activity was reduced in biopsy specimens from patients with flattened intestinal mucosa. To explore this further, we established optimal assay conditions for hydrolase activities (a) glycyl-L-proline, (b) L-phenylalanyl-L-proline, (c) L-alanyl-L-phenylalanine, and (d) L-phenylalanylglycine. Biopsy specimens from patients with various intestinal disorders, but without flattened mucosa, and from three patients with flattened mucosa, showed a disproportionate reduction in activities (a) and (b), with the reduction being significantly more marked in the latter patients. We suggest that intestinal imidopeptide hydrolase activities, such as (a) and (b), are sensitive to changes in intestinal disease generally, particularly to the altered physiology associated with flattening of the mucosa, and are secondary to, rather than a cause of, the intestinal pathology. Our finding that intestinal alkaline phosphatase activity tended to parallel imidopeptide hydrolase activity, and that activity (a) was partially localized to the particulate fraction of mucosal homogenate, suggested that imidopeptide hydrolase activities may be located in the microvilli of the intestinal epithelium and that, like alkaline phosphatase activity, they may be reduced in flattened mucosae, in part at least because of the pathologic changes in the microvilli. In our studies of control subjects we did not detect peptide hydrolase activity deficiency analogous to asymptomatic disaccharidase deficiency.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗