Abstract
Summary
The effect of endotoxin on the glycogenolytic enzymes was determined in an in vitro system. No increases in activities of phosphorylase, acid lysosomal glucosidase, neutral glucosidase or amylo-1, 6-glucosidase were noted. The increased glycogenolysis was attributed to increased activity of α-amylase, which resulted in release of α-amylase from microsomes. Endotoxin did not release acid phosphatase from lysosomes suggesting that release of microsomal α-amylase was not mediated by released lysosomal enzymes. Preliminary experiments did not show inhibition of microsomal membrane-bound ATPase.
The livers of mice injected intravenously with endotoxin had one-sixth of the micro-somal-associated α-amylase activity as compared with control mice, indicating in vivo microsomal damage. The sera of these endo-toxin-treated mice had a corresponding increase in α-amylase activity over the sera of control mice.
This research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant GB-8363. P. Zwadyk was the recipient of an NDEA IV fellowship.
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