The molecular basis of adult human "lactase deficiency" has long been a subject of controversy. T... more The molecular basis of adult human "lactase deficiency" has long been a subject of controversy. To address this issue, small intestinal biopsies from oriental, black, and white patients were analyzed. Adjacent samples were assayed for lactase and sucrase specific activities and the sucrase/lactase ratio (high ratio signifies lactase deficiency), and the results were compared to lactase steady-state mRNA levels detected in Northern blots probed with a human lactase cDNA. All oriental patients had high ratios and no detectable lactase mRNA. Four black patients had a similar pattern; two with low ratios had detectable mRNA. The group of white patients displayed a range of findings, from high ratio/no mRNA to low ratio/considerable mRNA. Elevated levels of lactase mRNA always correlated with the presence of elevated levels of lactase enzyme activity, suggesting that the difference in levels of adult human intestinal lactase activity among racial groups may be regulated at the level of gene transcription.
Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase is a small intestinal enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of the ca... more Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase is a small intestinal enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of the carbohydrate lactose in mammalian milk. During the neonatal period the enzyme is crucial for the nutrition of humans and most other mammals. Subsequently, the specific activity of ...
drug metabolism is a necessary prerequisite for determining the safe and rational use of drug the... more drug metabolism is a necessary prerequisite for determining the safe and rational use of drug therapy during pregnancy. Heme synthesis and drug metabolism were studied in 40 human fetuses aborted by hysterotomy and prostaglandins. A aminolevulinic acid synthetase (ALAS), the rate lim
Book Reviews HEPATOLOGY welcomes books for review and invites its readers both to identify books ... more Book Reviews HEPATOLOGY welcomes books for review and invites its readers both to identify books of hepatological interest and to serve as book reviewers. Books of note should be called t o the attention of the Book Editor, and potential reviewers should indicate their areas of interest. The Book Editor nonetheless reserves the right to select appropriate reviews for publication on these pages.
Background & Aims: Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) is an intestinal microvillus membrane glycop... more Background & Aims: Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) is an intestinal microvillus membrane glycoprotein that hydrolyzes lactose and phlorizin. These enzymatic activities have been assigned to glutamic acid (E) residues 1271 and 1747 in rabbit LPH. The aim of this study was to determine directly if this assignment was correct and if these two amino acids are the only nucleophiles required for
American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
Morphogenesis, initiation of differentiation marker gene expression, and their correlation with C... more Morphogenesis, initiation of differentiation marker gene expression, and their correlation with CCAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) expression were analyzed in the developing fetal rat small intestine. Expressions of mRNAs for lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH), intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IALP), carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (CPS), and three isoforms of C/EBP were simultaneously determined by Northern blot analysis from 15 to 19 days of gestation. At 17 days of gestation, prior to villus formation as demonstrated by light and electron microscopy, only CPS and C/EBPalpha, -beta, and -delta expression could clearly be detected. Both LPH and IALP mRNA were definitely detectable in proximal and middle intestine on day 18, as soon as the stratified epithelium of the early intestine had been transformed into a single layer of columnar epithelium lining villi. This distribution was confirmed by in situ hybridization for LPH mRNA. During the period of transformation when the columna...
European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology, 2018
In pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) a... more In pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) and bone fractures and the relationship between these are still debated. Our aim was to report data from a cohort of pediatric patients with IBD. Cross-sectional assessment of growth and BMD [(dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)] and retrospective chart review were performed to report the lifetime prevalence of bone fractures and clinical associations with patients' data. We examined 216 patients with IBD, 8-25 years old (median: 14 years). Low BMD was found in 12.5% (spine) and 27% (total body). Multiple regression analysis showed that BMD was predicted by Z-scores for height and weight at DXA. History of menstrual irregularities and nasogastric tube feedings was associated with lower BMD, whereas physical activity and higher Z-score for height at DXA were associated with higher BMD.The prevalence of lifetime fractures was 11.8%. Patients with a history of fractures had lower Z-sc...
American Journal of Diseases of Children, May 1, 1978
The liver span in 350 infants and children was determined by percussion of the upper and lower bo... more The liver span in 350 infants and children was determined by percussion of the upper and lower borders in the midclavicular line. Mean liver span was found to be related to age curvilinearly and ranged from a minimum of 1.9 cm at 1 week of age to a maximum of 7.7 cm in males and 6.3 cm in females at 20 years of age. In children with normal growth patterns, age and sex were found to be the major factors influencing liver size. Though height and weight also correlated with liver span, these variables did not add substantially to the correlation using age and sex alone. The presence of minor systemic illnesses, eg, otitis and gastroenteritis, did not affect liver span. The expected normal values for liver span at different ages for male and female children have been established and provide the basis for comparison during routine physical examination.
A case is described in which the preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum ... more A case is described in which the preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum was made by scintigraphy after the administration of pentagastrin. Pentagastrin premedication may be helpful in demonstrating ectopic gastric mucosa in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding in whom initial radiopertechnetate scintigraphy is equivocal or normal.
The molecular basis of adult human "lactase deficiency" has long been a subject of controversy. T... more The molecular basis of adult human "lactase deficiency" has long been a subject of controversy. To address this issue, small intestinal biopsies from oriental, black, and white patients were analyzed. Adjacent samples were assayed for lactase and sucrase specific activities and the sucrase/lactase ratio (high ratio signifies lactase deficiency), and the results were compared to lactase steady-state mRNA levels detected in Northern blots probed with a human lactase cDNA. All oriental patients had high ratios and no detectable lactase mRNA. Four black patients had a similar pattern; two with low ratios had detectable mRNA. The group of white patients displayed a range of findings, from high ratio/no mRNA to low ratio/considerable mRNA. Elevated levels of lactase mRNA always correlated with the presence of elevated levels of lactase enzyme activity, suggesting that the difference in levels of adult human intestinal lactase activity among racial groups may be regulated at the level of gene transcription.
Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase is a small intestinal enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of the ca... more Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase is a small intestinal enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of the carbohydrate lactose in mammalian milk. During the neonatal period the enzyme is crucial for the nutrition of humans and most other mammals. Subsequently, the specific activity of ...
drug metabolism is a necessary prerequisite for determining the safe and rational use of drug the... more drug metabolism is a necessary prerequisite for determining the safe and rational use of drug therapy during pregnancy. Heme synthesis and drug metabolism were studied in 40 human fetuses aborted by hysterotomy and prostaglandins. A aminolevulinic acid synthetase (ALAS), the rate lim
Book Reviews HEPATOLOGY welcomes books for review and invites its readers both to identify books ... more Book Reviews HEPATOLOGY welcomes books for review and invites its readers both to identify books of hepatological interest and to serve as book reviewers. Books of note should be called t o the attention of the Book Editor, and potential reviewers should indicate their areas of interest. The Book Editor nonetheless reserves the right to select appropriate reviews for publication on these pages.
Background & Aims: Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) is an intestinal microvillus membrane glycop... more Background & Aims: Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) is an intestinal microvillus membrane glycoprotein that hydrolyzes lactose and phlorizin. These enzymatic activities have been assigned to glutamic acid (E) residues 1271 and 1747 in rabbit LPH. The aim of this study was to determine directly if this assignment was correct and if these two amino acids are the only nucleophiles required for
American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology
Morphogenesis, initiation of differentiation marker gene expression, and their correlation with C... more Morphogenesis, initiation of differentiation marker gene expression, and their correlation with CCAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) expression were analyzed in the developing fetal rat small intestine. Expressions of mRNAs for lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH), intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IALP), carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase (CPS), and three isoforms of C/EBP were simultaneously determined by Northern blot analysis from 15 to 19 days of gestation. At 17 days of gestation, prior to villus formation as demonstrated by light and electron microscopy, only CPS and C/EBPalpha, -beta, and -delta expression could clearly be detected. Both LPH and IALP mRNA were definitely detectable in proximal and middle intestine on day 18, as soon as the stratified epithelium of the early intestine had been transformed into a single layer of columnar epithelium lining villi. This distribution was confirmed by in situ hybridization for LPH mRNA. During the period of transformation when the columna...
European journal of gastroenterology & hepatology, 2018
In pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) a... more In pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the prevalence of low bone mineral density (BMD) and bone fractures and the relationship between these are still debated. Our aim was to report data from a cohort of pediatric patients with IBD. Cross-sectional assessment of growth and BMD [(dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)] and retrospective chart review were performed to report the lifetime prevalence of bone fractures and clinical associations with patients' data. We examined 216 patients with IBD, 8-25 years old (median: 14 years). Low BMD was found in 12.5% (spine) and 27% (total body). Multiple regression analysis showed that BMD was predicted by Z-scores for height and weight at DXA. History of menstrual irregularities and nasogastric tube feedings was associated with lower BMD, whereas physical activity and higher Z-score for height at DXA were associated with higher BMD.The prevalence of lifetime fractures was 11.8%. Patients with a history of fractures had lower Z-sc...
American Journal of Diseases of Children, May 1, 1978
The liver span in 350 infants and children was determined by percussion of the upper and lower bo... more The liver span in 350 infants and children was determined by percussion of the upper and lower borders in the midclavicular line. Mean liver span was found to be related to age curvilinearly and ranged from a minimum of 1.9 cm at 1 week of age to a maximum of 7.7 cm in males and 6.3 cm in females at 20 years of age. In children with normal growth patterns, age and sex were found to be the major factors influencing liver size. Though height and weight also correlated with liver span, these variables did not add substantially to the correlation using age and sex alone. The presence of minor systemic illnesses, eg, otitis and gastroenteritis, did not affect liver span. The expected normal values for liver span at different ages for male and female children have been established and provide the basis for comparison during routine physical examination.
A case is described in which the preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum ... more A case is described in which the preoperative diagnosis of Meckel's diverticulum was made by scintigraphy after the administration of pentagastrin. Pentagastrin premedication may be helpful in demonstrating ectopic gastric mucosa in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding in whom initial radiopertechnetate scintigraphy is equivocal or normal.
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