Trypsin is the digestive enzyme of the pancreas (part of pancreatic juice). Enzymes are specialized biomolecules that facilitate chemical reactions in the body. The role of trypsin is responsible for the proper breakdown of food proteins in our digestive tract. Lack of trypsin in the stool in newborns may mean, for example, cystic fibrosis.
Contents:
- Trypsin - role in the body
- Trypsin - diseases
- Trypsin - study
Trypsinis an enzyme belonging to the class of hydrolases and the group of endopeptidases (serine protease), i.e. enzymes that break down peptide bonds in proteins.
This enzyme cleaves peptide bonds on the C-terminal (carboxy) side of arginine and lysine amino acid residues.
Trypsin was first discovered in 1876 by Kuhne and is produced in the body of various vertebrate animals, including humans.
Trypsin - role in the body
Trypsin is a digestive enzyme that is produced by the exocrine part of the pancreas. It helps us digest food proteins in the small intestine into smaller molecules, i.e. peptides. In addition, it interacts with two other digestive enzymes - pepsin and chymotrypsin.
Human trypsin is optimal at alkaline pH and around 37 ° C. Trypsin is produced by the pancreas in an inactive form called trypsinogen (called a zymogen), which enters the small intestine through the common bile duct and is then converted by enterokinase into active trypsin.
Then the active trypsin is responsible for the activation of other enzymes secreted in the form of zymogens such as procarboxypeptidase and chymotrypsinogen.
Trypsin - diseases
One of the most common pathologies associated with the disorder of the secretion of trypsin (and other digestive enzymes from the pancreas) is cystic fibrosis - the most common genetic disease in the Caucasian population.
In people with cystic fibrosis, the mucus plugs clog the tubules draining pancreatic juice.
The consequence of this is a number of gastrointestinal symptoms such as weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, abdominal enlargement or fatty stools.
Moreover, newborns with cystic fibrosis develop meconium obstruction caused by thick meconium, which in a he althy baby is broken down bytrypsin and other digestive enzymes, then passed into the stools.
Trypsin - study
Trypsin is excreted unchanged in the faeces as it is not digested in the gastrointestinal tract. Hence, the assessment of the level of trypsin in the stool is a good marker of the secretory capacity of the pancreas.
A result below reference or negative may indicate pancreatic insufficiency or cystic fibrosis (if other symptoms are present)
In addition, the determination of immunoreactive trypsin (IRT) in the blood is used as a screening test for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in newborns.
In the event of an abnormal IRT result, the child is genetically tested for the most common mutations in the CFTR gene.
Read also: Three-bushes enzymes - standards. How to interpret the test results?
References
- Noone P.G. et al. Cystic fibrosis gene mutations and pancreatitis risk: relation to epithelial ion transport and trypsin inhibitor gene mutations. Gastroenterology 2001 121, 6, 1310-9.
- https: //www.labtestsonline.pl/
Karolina Karabin, MD, PhD, molecular biologist, laboratory diagnostician, Cambridge Diagnostics Polska A biologist by profession, specializing in microbiology, and a laboratory diagnostician with over 10 years of experience in laboratory work. A graduate of the College of Molecular Medicine and a member of the Polish Society of Human Genetics. Head of research grants at the Laboratory of Molecular Diagnostics at the Department of Hematology, Oncology and Internal Diseases of the Medical University of Warsaw. She defended the title of doctor of medical sciences in the field of medical biology at the 1st Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University of Warsaw. Author of many scientific and popular science works in the field of laboratory diagnostics, molecular biology and nutrition. On a daily basis, as a specialist in the field of laboratory diagnostics, he runs the content department at Cambridge Diagnostics Polska and cooperates with a team of nutritionists at the CD Dietary Clinic. He shares his practical knowledge on diagnostics and diet therapy of diseases with specialists at conferences, training sessions, and in magazines and websites. She is particularly interested in the influence of modern lifestyle on molecular processes in the body.
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