if pepsin active all the time then what will happen?

CBSE Class 10 Answered

if pepsin active all the time then what will happen?

Asked by hira.dadhwal1975 | 12 Apr, 2016, 08:47: PM

Expert Answer

Pepsin is expressed as a zymogen called pepsinogen. Glands in the mucous-membrane lining of the stomach synthesise and store an inactive protein called pepsinogen. Impulses from the vagus nerve and the hormonal secretions of gastrin and secretin stimulate the release of pepsinogen into the stomach, where it is mixed with hydrochloric acid and rapidly gets converted to the active enzyme pepsin.
In the digestive tract pepsin effects only partial degradation of proteins into smaller units called peptides, which then either are absorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream or are broken down further by pancreatic enzymes.
Pepsin works effectively at a pH of about 1.5–2.5. In the intestine, the gastric acids are neutralised (pH 7), and pepsin is no longer effective. Therefore, pepsin would not stay active all the time considering the environment in the digestive tract.
Considering the hypothetical scenario of pepsin being active all the time, it would still not cause any destruction to the lining of the stomach because pepsin acts only on proteins (mostly collagen, found in animal tissues), and the stomach is covered with mucus (a substance made from fats) that protects the protein-containing tissues.
However, at times, chronic backflow of pepsin, acid, and other substances from the stomach into the oesophagus forms the basis for reflux conditions, particularly gastroesophageal reflux disease and laryngopharyngeal reflux. Pepsin and acid travel all the way up to the larynx, where they can cause damage to the laryngeal mucosa, resulting in hoarseness, chronic cough to laryngospasm and laryngeal cancer.

Answered by Sheetal Kolte | 13 Apr, 2016, 06:18: PM