Studies on proteolytic activities in heart muscle of diabetic rats.

Induction of diabetes mellitus in rats following injection of streptozotocin caused reduction in rate of gain of heart weight, of protein and of DNA content in the first two weeks. During the same time interval the overall activity of acid proteinases (cathepsin D), of alkaline proteinases and of proteinase inhibitors was measured in heart muscle homogenates. No statistically significant differences were detected compared with the proteinase activities in control rats. In contrast, total aminopeptidase activity in diabetic hearts was consistently lower than in control hearts. Earlier studies on rat skeletal muscles have shown that induction of diabetes mellitus is followed by a substantial increase of alkaline proteinase as well as aminopeptidase activities. These findings are contrasted by present data obtained with heart muscle of diabetic rats, suggesting that this tissue responds differently to insulin deficiency.