Effects of Dietary Protein Level on Growth and Proteolytic Activity of the Avian Pancreas

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Abstract
Pancreatic size, mitotic activity and protease content were determined in normal and protein-depleted chicks after feeding purified isolated soybean protein-dextrose diets containing zero, 15, 30, 50 and 70% protein. The proteolytic activity and mitotic rate were not affected by feeding 50 and 70% protein diets to normal chicks. When diets containing zero or 15% protein were fed to normal chicks there was a reduction in both proteolytic activity and mitotic rate. The pancreas of the normal chicks, generally, increased in size when the level of dietary protein increased. The feeding of protein-containing diets to depleted chicks resulted in an increased synthesis of proteases, hyperplasia and in an increased size of the pancreas. The amount of proteases was greater with the higher levels of protein for the first 2 days of treatment. Thereafter, the proteolytic activity decreased and the mitotic rate increased. The pancreas of the depleted chicks was larger than that of the normal chicks fed corresponding levels of protein.