Protease inhibitors and their relation to protease activity in human milk

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Updated: Oct 12, 2026

The Determination of Protease Specificity in Mouse Tissue Extracts by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry: Manipulating PH to Cause Specificity Changes
09:47

The Determination of Protease Specificity in Mouse Tissue Extracts by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry: Manipulating PH to Cause Specificity Changes

Published on: May 25, 2018

T Lindberg, K Ohlsson, B Weström

    Pediatric Research
    |June 1, 1982
    PubMed

    Protease inhibitors and protease (caseinolytic, elastinolytic and esterolytic) activity were analysed in 190 milk samples from 94 mothers from day 1 to day 160 after delivery. The main protease inhibitors in human milk are alpha 1-antichymotrypsin and alpha 1-antitrypsin. As measured by electroimmunoassay, the level of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in day 1 colostrum was higher than that in normal serum. Trace amounts of inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor, alpha 2-antiplasmin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, antithrombin III, or antileukoprotease could be demonstrated. According to their protease inhibiting activity, the 53 milk samples from day 1-3 could be divided into two groups. (1) Presence of protease inhibiting activity (n = 35). Both alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin appeared intact and were able to form complexes with added trypsin or chymotrypsin although the major part of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin showed a retarded electrophoretic mobility. The proteolytic inhibiting activity, in spite of the presence of immunoreactive inhibitors (n = 18). alpha 1-antichymotrypsin had a precipitate pattern similar to group 1, whereas alpha 1-antitrypsin had a major fraction with slightly retarded mobility and two minor peaks in the alpha 1-and beta-regions. These precipitate patterns were unchanged on addition of human trypsin or chymotrypsin compatible with the presence of nonreactive inhibitor only. These samples had a caseinolytic and esterolytic activity with an electrophoretic mobility in the beta-region. All samples from day 4 and later had a demonstrable protease inhibiting activity.

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