Ontogeny changes and weaning effects in gene expression patterns of digestive enzymes and regulatory digestive factors in spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) larvae.

The study of digestive physiology is an important issue in species that have been introduced in aquaculture like the spotted rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus). The aims of this study were to describe the expression of digestive enzymes (trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, α-amylase, lipoprotein lipase, phospholipase A and pepsinogen) and their relation with orexigenic (neuropeptide Y, NPY) and anorexigenic (cholecystokinin, CCK) factors during the larval development and to evaluate the effect of weaning in their expression. The results showed that the transcripts of all the assayed digestive enzymes, with the exception of pepsinogen, and NPY and CCK were already present in L. guttatus from the hatching stage. The expression of all the enzymes was low during the yolk-sac stage (0-2 days after hatching, DAH), whereas after the onset of exogenous feeding at 2 DAH, their expression increased and fluctuated throughout larval development, which followed a similar pattern as in other marine fish species and reflected changes in different types of food items and the progressive maturation of the digestive system. On the other hand, weaning of L. guttatus larvae from live prey onto a microdiet between 25 and 35 DAH significantly affected the relative expression of most pancreatic digestive enzymes during the first weaning days, whereas chymotrypsinogen 2 and lipoprotein lipase remained stable during this period. At the end of co-feeding, larvae showed similar levels of gene expression regardless of the diet (live prey vs. microdiet), which indicated that larvae of L. guttatus were able to adapt their digestive capacities to the microdiet. In contrast, feeding L. guttatus larvae with live feed or microdiet did not affect the expression of CCK and NPY. The relevance of these findings with regard to current larval rearing procedures of L. guttatus is discussed.

Pepsinógeno I sérico y enfermedad ulcerosa duodenal / Serum pepsinogen I and duodenal ulcer disease

La úlcera duodenal es una enfermedad frcuente. Se ha dicho siempre que resulta de un inadecuado balance entre las fuerzas agresivas (HC1 y pepsina) y las fuerzas defensivas. Tradicionalmente mayor atención se ha prestado al ácido y relativo menor interés a la pepsina. Dos tipo de pepsinógenos han sido reconocidos como precursores de la actividad péptica intraluminal. El Pepsinógeno I ha sido mayormente implicado en ulcerogénesis. La intención de esta revisión es considerar los diferentes aspectos actuales fisiopatológicos y clínicos, como marcador predictivo y genético de esta enzima en la enfermedad ulcerosa duodenal, la cual es siempre un reto en la práctica diaria de los gastroenterólogos

Pepsinogênio I e úlcera duodenal / Serum pepsinogen I and duodenal ulcer

Neste artigo de revisäo procurou-se enfocar o papel do pepsinogênio/pepsina desde sua descoberta até sua aplicaçäo prática que, à semelhança do teste de secreçäo gástrica de ácido clorídrico, apresenta padröes diferentes de secreçäo basal ou estimulada na úlcera péptica, gastrite etc. Säo avaliados os métodos de determinaçäo do pepsinogênio, verificando-se que apesar da utilizaçäo do radioimunoensaio, outros métodos menos sofisticados, porém com alta especificidade, têm sido usados com sucesso. Os níveis séricos de pepsinogênio (NSP) após estímulo com Histalog discriminam pacientes com úlcera duodenal de indivíduos normais e säo mais elevados em homens do que em mulheres. É feito um paralelismo entre os pepsinogênios I e II verificando-se níveis mais elevados do pepsinogênio I em fumantes. O pepsinogênio I está aumentado na úlcera duodenal e o II na úlcera gástrica, e os dois tendem a caracterizar uma predisposiçäo genética para úlcera péptica. Finalmente, a principal aplicabilidade clínica da determinaçäo dos NSP do grupo I é na detecçäo da gastrite atrófica, em funçäo de seu potencial para o cáncer gástrico