Establishment of a rapid and simple assay for measuring serum trehalase activity

Trehalase (TREH, trehalose-1-glucohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.28) catalyzes the hydrolysis of α,α-trehalose (1-α-D-glucopyranosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside) to form two molecules of glucose. TREH has been identified in the brush border membranes of the kidney, liver, and small intestine of mammals, but its physiological role has not yet been clarified. Some methods for measuring TREH activity have been reported, but they have been time-intensive, and its suitability for quantitative analysis could not be ascertained. Therefore, we developed a simple and rapid enzymatic assay for measuring serum TREH activity using a Hitachi 7600 type automated analyzer and evaluated the assay performance. The precision, linearity, detection limit, and recovery test were good. This new method effectively measures the serum TREH activity and can be easily integrated with an automated analyzer for rapid, high performance assays. This method can also support further research on understanding TREH activity.