DEGRADATION OF ALBUMIN BY ISOLATED SEGMENTS OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT IN RATS.

Abstract

Summary1. Studies of NaI131 absorption from and I131-albumin catabolism in isolated segments of gastrointestinal tract of rats are described. 2. One hour following the simultaneous injection of NaI131 into stomach, proximal, middle, and distal small intestinal segments, there was net gain of radioactivity in the gastric lumen, and a mean loss of 13.3 to 15.3% of the injected dose per cm2 of serosal surface in the small bowel segments. 3. After injection of 1.7-2.6 mg of I131-albu-min into stomach, proximal middle, and distal small bowel segments mean percentages catabolized per cm2 in one hour in respective segments were 6.4, 10.2, 13.3, and 13.0. 4. Diversion of pancreatic and biliary secretions for 24 hours prior to study lowered these means to 4.0, 5.1, 2.9, and 4.9 respectively. 5. These studies indicate that the stomach and all levels of the small bowel possess significant potential for degrading serum albumin entering the lumen, and that pancreatico-biliary secretions make a significant, but not the...