Glucosamine synthetase activity of the colonic mucosa in membranous colitis.

Glucosamine synthetase, the first enzyme in glycoprotein synthesis, has been measured in serial rectal biopsies in four patients with membranous colitis. In two of the patients the levels of the enzyme were very high initially and in the other two patients the enzyme levels rose to a peak above the normal range after a delay of up to 10 days. These high levels may be related to the mucus hypersecretion which is a feature of membranous colitis but it seems more likely that they represent the healing of the mucosa.