Introduction
Trypsin is an enzyme that is produced in the pancreas and is very important for the digestion of humans. It activates other digestive enzymes from the pancreas in the intestine, which in turn further break down proteins that are taken in with food. These can then be absorbed by the intestine as it continues its passage through the intestine. Trypsin is therefore important as an activator for various digestive enzymes for the absorption of proteins.
Tasks and functions- How does Trypsin work?
Trypsin is produced in the pancreas and is an enzyme responsible for activating other digestive enzymes from the pancreas. These are mainly chymotrypsin, elastase and carboxypeptidase. Trypsin thus triggers an activation cascade that is crucial for the digestion of proteins from food. A deficiency therefore leads to serious disturbances in the body and especially in the large intestine to putrefaction.
What is trypsinogen?
Trypsin is an enzyme that tends to break down other proteins. It is therefore important that this function is not already in effect at the place of production, i.e. the pancreas. To prevent this, trypsin is produced in an inactive precursor.
This precursor is also called proenzyme and in the case of trypsin is the trypsinogen. When food is consumed, the inactive trypsinogen precursor is released from the pancreas and activated in the small intestine. This is done by another enzyme called enterereopeptidase.
In the process, parts of the trypsinogen are split off, resulting in the active form trypsin. In the diagnosis of some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, it is important to measure the trypsin level in the human body. For this purpose, the amount of trypsinogen in the body can also be determined, as this is directly related to the amount of trypsin available.
What is antitrypsin?
Antitrypsin is a so-called protease inhibitor. This means that antitrypsin is able to prevent trypsin from doing its job and splitting proteins. This is particularly important for the comminution of proteins in the blood.
Antitrypsin is usually referred to as alpha-1-antitrypsin because it is detectable in the so-called alpha-1 fraction in a detection method (protein electrophoresis). It is largely produced in the liver and is important for preventing excessive inflammation in the body by inhibiting various enzymes such as trypsin, plasmin, or thrombin. In case of a deficiency, the liver, but also the lungs are severely affected.