Observations on the treatment of human gastric and colonic mucus with lysozyme.

Interest has recently been focussed on the enzyme lysozyme as a result of the studies of Karl Meyer and his associates (1-4). They observed a much higher concentration of lysozyme in the stools of patients with ulcerative colitis than in those with normal colons or with other colonic disorders. In the gastric juice of subjects with peptic ulcer they found a less marked but apparently significant increase in lysozyme concentration above normal. From experimental observations in which was noted disappearance of the mucous coating in gastric pouches of dogs following the introduction of lysozyme these workers inferred that lysozyme attacked the protective layer of mucus investing the lining membrane of the stomach and colon. In experiments in vitro, however, they were unable to demonstrate such a lytic action on purified fractions of human gastric mucin. They did, however, induce experimentally gastrointestinal ulcerations in dogs by feeding them lysozyme in high concentration (1500 units or more per cc.). This concentration is higher than might be encountered in human pathologic processes (5). The finding of increased lysozyme concentration in the stools of subjects with ulcerative colitis has been confirmed by Grossman (6) and by Grace and his associates (7). The latter demonstrated in subjects with ulcerative colitis that the lysozyme titre in the stools paralleled not only the clinical state of ulcerative colitis but also the state of relative security of the subject in his life situation. During periods of remission, when stools were normal and the subject was relatively relaxed and secure, lysozyme values were normal. In reaction to situations of significant personal conflict lysozyme concentration rose. When such increases in lysozyme concentration were sustained