Enterokinase in normal intestinal biopsies and those from patients with untreated coeliac disease

Enterokinase was measured in peroral intestinal biopsies showing normal histology and in those from untreated coeliac patients which showed gross villous atrophy. There was no significant difference in the specific activity of enterokinase between these two groups. These results do not support the recent hypothesis that enterokinase is a brush border enzyme, but would be consistent with the idea that it is adsorbed to the cell membrane following secretion.