Distribution of adenosine triphosphatase and thamine pyrophosphatase in the digestive system of Heteropneustes fossils.

Histochemical localization of adenosine triphosphatase and thiamine pyrophosphatase in the digestive system of the teleost fish, Heteropneustes fossilis has been studied. In the stomach, ATPase activity is observed in the mucosa, gastric glands and muscularis. The activity is stronger in the muscularis. Very weak TPPase activity is localized only in the mucosa and gastric glands. In the intestinal mucosa ATPase activity is stronger especially, along the brush border. Mild activity is also found in the connective tissue network and their nuclei, muscularis and serosa. In the posterior portion of the intestine and rectum, the localization pattern is similar to that of intestine but the activity is weaker. TPPase activity in the intestine and rectum is restricted only to the goblet shaped mucus secreting cells. In the liver, strong activity of ATPase and moderate activity of TPPase are found in the cytoplasm as well as the nuclei of the hepatic cells.