Intracellular Proteolytic Enzymes of Liver

In all living tissues, protein constituents are continually being broken down within the body cells and protein decomposition products are excreted. If any or all of the processes of degradation occurring during life are the work of enzymes, we should expect to be able to demonstrate the existence of these enzymes in the tissues after death. The occurrence of such proteolytic enzymes was first established in 189 ° when E. Salkowski 2 showed that liver, muscle and suprarenal glands, when minced and kept in chloroform water at 37°C. underwent what he termed "autodigestion." Somewhat similar observations had previously been made by Salomon a and by Schmiedeberg? Jacobi 5 later confirnled Salkowski's observations and called the phenomenon "autolysis." These intracellular proteolytic enzymes are not known to be excreted into the body fluids but may be obtained in an active state in the press juice or in the filtrate of water extracts of organs. Whether the phenomenon of autodigestion of organs removed from the animal body is related in nature to the physiological disintegration of protein within the living cell is a problem that is still unsolved. Parenteral digestion of protein has been observed. The r61e of leucocytes and their enzymes in effecting the removal of inflammatory products has been clearly pointed out by Opie ~ and others. The absorption of areas of necrosis not associated