Human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor. Distribution, actions and possible role in mucosal integrity and repair.

Pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor is a potent protease inhibitor which was originally identified in the pancreas. It has subsequently been shown to be present in mucus-secreting cells throughout the gastrointestinal tract and also in the kidney, lung and breast. Its major roles are likely to be to prevent premature activation of pancreatic proteases and to decrease the rate of mucus digestion by luminal proteases within the stomach and colon. In addition, PSTI increases the proliferation of a variety of cell lines and stimulates cell migration, possibly acting via the EGF receptor. These findings suggest that PSTI may also be involved in both the early and late phases of the healing response following injury. Further studies including the production of transgenic overexpression and knockout models should help elucidate the physiological function of this peptide.