Alkaline and acid phosphatase activities in the gingiva and alveolar bone in scurvy

Abstract

Techniques for measuring the enzyme activity of alkaline and acid phosphatases in the gingiva and alveolar bone of guinea pigs are described. Assays of both enzymes were also carried out for liver, kidney, small intestine and femoral cortex. When the activity of alkaline phosphatase was expressed on the basis of unit weight of wet tissue, gingiva and small intestine showed a high value, kidney and alveolar bone an intermediate one, and femoral cortex and liver remarkably low levels. For alkaline phosphatase expressed on the basis of extracted protein, alveolar bone and gingiva, respectively, possessed about 560 and 90 times higher activity than liver which had the lowest value of all tissues studied. When acid phosphatase activity was expressed as units per weight of wet tissue, gingiva and liver showed a high level, kidney and small intestine being almost as high, while a remarkably low level was detected in alveolar bone and femoral cortex. The activity expressed on the basis of extracted protein was almost identical for liver, kidney, femoral cortex and small intestine. Gingiva and alveolar bone had approximately 2.5 and 1.4 times greater activity than liver, respectively. The alkaline phosphatase activity of gingiva, alveolar bone and femoral cortex decreased strikingly after 3 weeks of scorbutic regime. No significant change was found in liver and kidney, though small intestine showed a slight decrease. The acid phosphatase activity of gingiva, alveolar bone, femoral cortex, small intestine and liver showed a significant increase in scurvy, but kidney did not exhibit a significant change.