HISTOCHEMICAL ENZYME TECHNICS 

 APPLIED TO STARCH GEL ELECTROPHORESIS 



P. J. MELNICK and S. H. LAWRENCE 



From the Clinical Laboratory Service, and Biochemistry 



Research Laboratory, Vétérans Administration Hospital, 



San Fernando, Califomia, U.S. A.; and the Departments of 



Pathology and Infections Diseases, University of Califomia, 



Los Angeles, Califomia, U.S.A. 



Histochemical technics were adapted for use in starch gel electrophoresis 

 to demonstrate the following 8 enzymes: aminopeptidase, betaglucuroni- 

 dase, cytochrome oxidase, cholinesterase, succinic dehydrogenase, lactic 

 dehydrogenase, beta-hydroxybutyric dehydrogenase, and glutamic dehydro- 

 genase. Also, 3 reported technics (esterase, and acid and alkaline phos- 

 phatases) were adapted for human sérum in starch gel electrophoresis. 

 The pattems of thèse 11 enzymes were then studied with this médium in 

 human sérum, the sérum of 6 other mammalian species, several normal hu- 

 man tissues (heart, liver, kidney, spleen, adrenal and brain), and a num- 

 ber of human malignant tumors (5 cases of carcinoma of the breast, carci- 

 noma of the prostate, reticulum cell sarcoma, and parotid mixed tumor). 

 Most of the enzymes were composed of several discrète components. The 

 effect of inhibitors were studied on some of the separate enzyme bands, 

 such as eserine on cholinesterase and tartrate and formalin on the acid 

 phosphatases. 



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