Elevated levels of serum pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) in patients with malabsorption syndrome.

Serum pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) was measured by radioimmunoassay in 5 patients with malabsorption syndrome. The serum level of PSTI was elevated to 123.8 +/- 25.8 ng/ml (Mean +/- SE) in patients with malabsorption syndrome, which was significantly higher than the 16.6 +/- 0.7 ng/ml level seen in 116 healthy control subjects. Serum PSTI levels in 5 patients with malabsorption syndrome showed inverse correlations with serum levels of cholesterol, cholinesterase and amylase, and not with serum levels of vitamin E, carotene, apoprotein A-IV, albumin, nor with immunoreactive elastase 1, respectively. These results suggest that elevated levels of serum PSTI represent a state of malnutrition due to impaired intestinal absorption.