A sensitive sandwich enzyme immunoassay (e.i.a.) for serrapeptase (TSP), an orally available anti‐inflammatory proteinase, was established using affinity‐purified anti‐TSP rabbit IgG and its Fab' fragment conjugated with horseradish peroxidase as the first and the second antibodies respectively. TSP in the plasma was determined by the e.i.a. after its oral administration (100 mg/kg) to rats. The peak concentration was observed between 30 min and 2 h after administration. TSP in the plasma samples was trapped on a microtitre plate coated with the affinity‐purified anti‐TSP rabbit IgG, and the hydrolysis of a synthetic fluorogenic substrate, butoxycarbonyl‐Glu(benzyloxy)‐Ala‐Arg‐4‐methylcoumaryl‐7‐amide, by the trapped TSP was fluorometrically measured (proteinase assay). The values obtained by the e.i.a. and those obtained by the proteinase assay correlated well for various plasma samples. These results indicate that orally administered TSP was absorbed from the intestinal tract and transferred into the circulation in an enzymically active form.

No abstract

SUMMARYKallikrein was located in the apical portion of the striated duct cells of the cat's submandibular gland by an immunohistochemical technique. This portion only of these cells showed an intense band of specific fluorescence. There was no evidence of specific fluorescence in the acinar and demilune cells nor in the interstitial tissue or blood vessels. In some sections the collecting ducts showed a very fine fluorescent luminal rim.

It has been reported that the sialoadenectomy results in the changes such as the atrophic degeneration in bone, cartilage, enamel and elastic fiber in connective tissue, associated with the inhibition of bodyweight growth (Takizawa et al., 1938 and 1939).It was generally accepted by the members of the research group of salivary gland in Japan, that parotin(Ito, 1954), salivary gland hormone, extracted from bovine parotid gland, could amend the changes following the sialoadenectomy(Ogura, 1956). While Imamichi and Eto(1957), Honjo et al.(1957) presented negative data that parotin neither elicits enough potency upon the cartilage plate of tibia in rats, nor is the sialoadenectomy involved with the bodygrowth, if the food intake fits in the postoperative care.It is presumed that this discrepancy ensues from the difference in the experimental conditions, and the solution of it is of important significance to establish the biological nature of parotin. Recently many parotin-like substances were isolated from the various tissues, such as S-parotin extracted from the submaxillary gland(Ito and Aonuma, 1952), saliva-parotin-A from human saliva(Ito and Okabe, 1959), uro-parotin from human urine(Ito et al., 1954), and alpha-parotin isolated from bovine parotid gland(Ito and Asano, 1961). These parotin-like substances are expected to have the same activities in the recovery from the changes caused by the sialoadenectomy.In this experiment, it was examined whether the arrest of the normal body-growth and the deformation in the tibial epiphysis does follow the sialoadenectomy or not, and further whether parotin or parotin-like substances do display the restitution ability or not. MATERIALS AND METHODS Experimental animals: One hundred young rats of Donryu strain, 60-days-old, weighing ca. 100g, were totally sialoadenectomized(SX-rats), and 30 rats were served as the control for the

No abstract