THE DISTRIBUTION OF GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATASE IN THE LIVER AND KIDNEY OF THE MOUSE

Abstract

Glucose-6-phosphatase has been demonstrated in frozen sections of mouse liver and kidney. In both organs, the enzyme is present only within parenchymal elements and is absent from stromal tissues. The enzyme is more abundant in the peripheral third of the hepatic lobule than in the inner two-thirds. Within the hepatic cell the enzyme is concentrated about the nuclear membrane. Studies were made of the distribution of the enzyme in the liver in relation to the diurnal cycle but no significant changes in enzyme distribution were observed. In the kidney the enzyme is found in the proximal convoluted tubule, concentrated at the basal pole of the cells, and in portions of the renal glomerulus. The evidence and experimental results are described which indicate that glucose-6-phosphatase is an enzyme distinct from nonspecific acid and alkaline phosphatases and that this enzyme can be so demonstrated histochemically. The presence of this enzyme in the liver and kidney is correlated with the ability of these organs to produce blood-sugar.