Kallikrein

Literature References: Hypotensive enzyme which releases kinins from plasma proteins. Major sources in the body are blood plasma, glandular tissues, and urine, occurring abundantly in the pancreas, parotid and submaxillary glands, in intestinal wall, in feces, in duodenal juice, and to a lesser degree in kidney. Isoln from mammalian pancreas or urine: Abelous, Bardier, C.R. Seances Soc. Biol. Ses Fil. 64, 848 (1908); Webster et al., Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 93, 181 (1956). Separation into two components, kallikreins A and B: E. Habermann, Z. Physiol. Chem. 328, 15 (1962); F. Fiedler, E. Werle, ibid. 348, 1087 (1967); C. Kutzbach, G. Schmidt-Kastner, ibid. 353, 1099 (1972). Prepn of high purity material: Werle, Trautschold, DE 1102973 (1960 to Bayer). Review on pig pancreatic kallikrein: F. Fiedler, Methods Enzymol. 45B, 289-303 (1976); on human kallikrein and prekallikrein: R. W. Colman, A. Bagdasarian, ibid. 303-322. Plasma kallikrein differs from glandular or urinary kallikrein. The latter two liberate kallidin, q.v.; the former releases bradykinin, q.v., both from the common precursor, kininogen. Pharmacology: Franz, Marquardt, Arzneim.-Forsch. 10, 779 (1960). Reviews: Schachter, Physiol. Rev. 49, 509 (1969); Suzuki et al., Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 8, 15 (1970).