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Enzyme Activities during Development of Some Organs of the Rat¹

Bruce Lyon Memorial Research Laboratory, Children's Hospital Medical Center, 51st and Grove Sts, Oakland, CA 94609

The developmental patterns for malic enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, ATP-citrate lyase and isocitrate dehydrogenase were examined in rat liver, brain, kidney, heart and small intestine. For malic enzyme, three different developmental patterns were discerned: in the small intestine and kidney, enzyme activity was first detected a few hours after birth and then rose rapidly to adult values reaching a plateau at 12 to 16 days postpartum; in the brain and heart, activity rose later at about 3 to 8 days after birth and more gradually approached adult values; and in the liver, little activity appeared until about day 16, at which time it rose very rapidly exceeding adult levels. The developmental patterns of the two dehydrogenase enzymes of the pentose phosphate cycle also varied. Activities were low during suckling in every organ except the heart and small intestine. In the liver and small intestine, activity rose sharply at weaning, exceeding activity values in adult animals. ATP-citrate lyase activity changed with development only in the liver and small intestine where activity was low during suckling and rose at weaning. Isocitrate dehydrogenase activity was constant throughout development except in the brain, where activity decreased throughout development, and heart where it was low during suckling. Possible explanations for the observed developmental patterns are discussed.

KEY WORDS: • enzyme activity • lipogenesis • rats

¹ This work was supported by Grant No. CA 11736 from the National Cancer Institute and Biomedical Research Support Grant Number RR 05467 from the National Institutes of Health, DHEW.

² To whom reprint requests should be sent.

Manuscript received 27 April 1979.