Dipeptidase activity in the small intestinal mucosa during pregnancy and lactation in the rat

1. Rats were mated and at weekly intervals during pregnancy and lactation, and after weaning, the dipeptidase activity in the supernatant fraction from small intestinal mucosa extracts was determined for two dipeptides: glycyl-L-leucine dipeptidase (EC 3.4.3.2) AND L-alanyl-L-glutamic acid dipeptidase. 2. Dipeptidase activity is found mainly in the soluble (spernantant) fraction of the mucosa homogenate. 3. Compared with those values obtained for unmated controls, the food consumption of the animals and the nitrogen content, total and specific activities of the dipeptidases (per unit quantity of N) in the soluble fraction of the small intestinal mucosa extracts increased slightly during pregnancy and markedly during lactation. After the pups were weaned, values for all these measurements fell rapidly. 4. Whether the increases found in enzyme activity were simply a response to increased food intake or were the result of hormonal stimulus is discussed.