Evaluation of histochemical observations of activity of acid hydrolases obtained with semipermeable membrane techniques

Abstract

Three distinct isoenzymes of acid phosphatase have been separated from extracts of m.gastrocnemius of normal and of vitamin E deficient rabbits by gel filtration and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These isoenzymes, termed I, II and III, have molecular weights of: 110,000–130,000, 60,000–78,000 and 12,500–14,500. Isoenzymes I and II split the substrates 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate and naphthol AS-BI phosphate and the activity is strongly increased in the muscles of vitamin E deficient rabbits. Isoenzyme III splits only 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate and the activity is not increased in the muscles of vitamin E deficient rabbits. The pH-optimum for isoenzymes I and II is 4.8 and for isoenzyme III 5.5. It has been shown that the histochemical semipermeable membrane technique, using the substrate naphthol AS-BI phosphate, is a very reliable technique for demonstrating activity of the isoenzymes I and II in tissue sections. On the other hand, activity of isoenzyme III cannot be demonstrated with this histochemical technique. In pathologically altered muscles, the activity of the isoenzymes I and II is greatly increased whilst the activity of isoenzyme III is not significantly altered.