Enteropeptidase levels in duodenal juice of normal subjects and patients with gastrointestinal disease

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Abstract
Enteropeptidase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin activity in basal and secretin-stimulated duodenal juice of 20 normal adult volunteers and 15 patients with gastrointestinal disease were determined. All enzyme concentrations showed skew distributions, but fluctuations in the secretin-stimulated juices were less pronounced than in the basal secretions. Secretin administration had no influence on the release of enteropeptidase from human duodenal mucosa, but resulted in a very small increase in secretion of pancreatic enzymes. Six out of seven patients with chronic alcoholic pancreatitis or cancer of the pancreas exhibited highly significant elevations of enteropeptidase in their basal as well as secretinstimulated duodenal juice. It is suggested that raised luminal enteropeptidase activity may be the result of pancreatic insufficiency or elevated blood glucagon concentrations.