Isoamylases in blood, urine, and tissue homogenates from some experimental mammals

The isoamylase patterns of the serum, urine, and various tissue extracts of some mammalian species were studied with the aid of agarose gel electrophoresis followed by incubation with a starch-dye polymer. In the dog and cat mainly one fraction of amylase, derived from the pancreatic gland, was found in the serum and in the urine. In the rabbit, identical isoamylases were produced by the salivary and pancreatic glands and possibly also by the duodenum; they were detectable in serum and were excreted in the urine in partly changed form. In the rat, the salivary isoamylase was clearly differentiated from the pancreatic isoamylases in serum and urine. Skeletal muscle also produced a starch-degrading enzyme, but no conclusive evidence of hepatic amylase production was found. In the mouse, the salivary and pancreatic isoamylases of serum and urine were clearly separated. Evidence of amylase production was found in the liver and duodenum. These amylases belonged to the pancreatic group of isoamylases. In the guinea-pig, the salivary and pancreatic isoamylases differed from one another in their electrophoretic migration rates; in the serum and urine only salivary isoamylases were detectable. In the Golden Syrian hamster, the salivary glands, the pancreatic glands, and the small intestine-fallopian tube differed from each other in respect of the groups of isoamylases they produced. The pancreatic isoamylase was never seen in the serum or the urine.