Search for a Naturally Occurring Amylase Inhibitor in Human Serum

IT has been postulated that an amylase inhibitor exists in normal human serum, but not in the serum of patients with acute pancreatitis1. The principal evidence for the presence of this inhibitor was based on observations that the average amylase activity of a group of sera was nearly tripled after subjecting the specimens to filter paper electrophoresis. It was found that when eighteen normal sera having a mean amylase value of 106 Somogyi units were separated electrophoretically, the total amylase recovered by extracting the various protein fractions with saline averaged 311 Somogyi units1. However, a similar electrophoretically-induced enhancement in amylase activity could not be demonstrated in sera from patients with acute pancreatitis. Dreiling et al.2 substantiated these observations and suggested that although increased quantities of pancreatic amylase enter the blood in acute pancreatitis, the circulating level of the amylase inhibitor is decreased in this disorder. These workers further concluded that, in cases of pancreatic cancer, hyperamylasaemia was not accompanied by any diminution in the enzyme inhibitor.