Studies on quantitative fractionation of human gastric juice pepsins

Abstract

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis made possible the quantitative fractionation of pepsins in human gastric juice.
Human gastric juice pepsins were separated into four major fractions and seven minor fractions by this newly developed method.
Fraction 1 had a pH optimum different from fractions 2, 3 and 4. When incubated at pH 3.5, fraction 1 was found to be more stable, thereby suggesting that it may be identical to gastricsin.
Little change was observed in the relative proportions of these four major fractions, when the pepsin patterns of gastric juice obtained from normal controls were compared with those from the patients with gastric and duodenal ulcer.
It was demonstrated that pepsin patterns obtained from gastric juice, before and after gastrin stimulation, and those from acidified fundic mucosal extracts were essentially similar.
Therefore, it is not possible to conclude that each pepsin fraction is secreted from corresponding pepsinogen producing cell.