Activity and post-prandial regulation of digestive enzyme activity along the Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) alimentary canal

Hagfishes are living representatives of the earliest-diverging vertebrates and are thus useful for the study of early vertebrate physiology. It has been previously postulated that digestive enzymes account for the majority of digestion because hagfish are agastric with notable zymogen granules in specialized cells of the hindgut. While the presence of some digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase and leucinaminopeptidase) have been confirmed with histochemistry, quantification of enzymatic activity is limited. This study sought to biochemically quantify the tissue activity of six digestive enzymes (alpha-amylase, maltase, lipase, trypsin, aminopeptidase and alkaline phosphatase) along the length of the Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii) alimentary canal. In addition, the effect of feeding on the rate of enzyme activity was examined. Overall, maltase and trypsin activities were unchanging with respect to location or feeding status, while the activities of alpha-amylase and alkaline phosphatase decreased substantially following feeding, but were consistent along the length. Lipase and aminopeptidase activities were elevated in the anterior region of the alimentary canal in comparison to the more posterior regions, but were not altered with feeding. This study indicates hagfish have an assortment of digestive enzymes that likely are the result of a varied diet. The differential expression of these enzymes along the tract and in regards to feeding may be indications of early compartmentalization of digestive function.