Mucosal enterokinase activity in pancreatic insufficiency and celiac disease.

Jejunal biopsy specimens were obtained from children with cystic fibrosis (CF), celiac 
disease (CD), or congenital exocrine pancreatic hypoplasia (CEPH) and from control 
subjects. Sections were examined histologically and homogenates were used for measurement 
of enterokinase and sucrase activities. This work was undertaken because enterokinase 
is considered a brush border enzyme, the release of which into 
the intestinal lumen is influenced by pancreatic enzymes, and also because 
we have recently shown a small bowel mucosal dysfunction in patients 
with CF. As expected, sucrase activity was reduce (p < .05) 
in children with CD as compared to the other three groups. 
On the other hand, enterokinase activity in children with pancreatic insufficiency 
(CF and CEPH) was higher (p < .05) than that of 
control subjects. The present study has shown that in patients with 
CF and CEPH, mucosal enterokinase activity was increased as compared to 
control subjects. It seems that the pancreatic enzymes play a large 
role in the turnover of enzymes in the brush border membrane 
and that the observed increase of mucosal enterokinase activity is probably 
explained by a reduced degradation in patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. 
