Digestive end products release pancreatic enzymes from particulate cellular pools, particularly zymogen granules

The effects of various amino acids and phosphorylated forms of glucose on the release of digestive enzymes from particulate cellular pools, particularly zymogen granules, were evaluated in rat pancreas. Whole tissue homogenates, as well as zymogen granules isolated either by differential centrifugation in 0.3 M sucrose or by preparation in buffered sucrose and subsequent centrifugation in a Percoll gradient, were studied. The basic amino acids L-arginine and L-lysine, sites of tryptic cleavage, caused the release of trypsinogen, but not chymotrypsinogen, whereas the aromatic amino acids L-phenylalanine and L-tryptophan, sites of chymotryptic cleavage, caused release of both trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen. Neither led to the release of the starch-splitting enzyme amylase. All effects occurred within the range of normal plasma concentrations for these amino acids in the rat. Two amino acids, L-threonine and hydroxy-L-proline, that are not sites of cleavage by trypsin or chymotrypsin, and a nonmammalian amino acid, aminoadipic acid, did not lead to release of trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, or amylase. Two phosphorylated forms of glucose, glucose 1-phosphate and glucose 1,6-diphosphate, caused the release of amylase, but of neither trypsinogen nor chymotrypsinogen. Contrary to previous results, D-glucose was without effect, as was glucose 6-phosphate. We propose that certain digestive end products, by direct action on zymogen granules, cause the selective release of the enzymes involved in their evolution from polymeric substrates during digestion.