Discrimination of Elastase Activties in Human Sera and its Application for Clinical Diagnoses

Abstract

Elastasea ctivity obtained from normal healthy human serum was subjected to CM Sephadex column chromatographic and chromatofocusing separations, and there were two kinds of activities, that is, pancreas and leukocyte originated ones.
Pancreatic elastase activity was suppressed and leukocytic elastase activity was activated by the addition of 0.5M NaCl.The followingfindings were obtained using the discriminating assay method of the pancreatic and leukocytic elastase activities.
The ratio of pancreatic and leukocytic elastase activities in the serum total elastase activity was different in age and physiological Conditions, that is, the serum total elastase (elastin hydrolyzing) activity was low in the patient with hypothyroidism but the ratio of leukocytic elastase was found to be higher.
The ratio of the pancreatic to the leukocytic elastase activities in young (<10 years old) and in old (>70 years old) subjects were examhd, and the ratio of leukocytic dastase activity was fo und to be highr in young subjects.
Elastase activity ih the serum may have different functions, in thelr origins, pancreatic or leukocytic, to regulate metabolic activities in the connective tissues.