Regulation of sucrase and lactase in developing rats: role of nuclear factors that bind to two gene regulatory elements.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Sucrase-isomaltase and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase expressions change remarkably during postnatal development in rats. The aim of this study was to explore the role of transacting nuclear proteins, proteins that bind to the SIF1 cis-regulatory element of the sucrase-isomaltase gene and to the CE-LPH1 cis-regulatory element of the lactase-phlorizin hydrolase gene, in this regulation. METHODS: Enzyme activity, Northern analysis, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays were used to study the relationship of these nuclear proteins to sucrase-isomaltase and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase gene expression in rats during development. RESULTS: A rapidly migrating low-molecular-weight SIF1-binding protein was found in suckling animals without sucrase-isomaltase messenger RNA (mRNA), and a higher-molecular-weight-binding protein was found in older animals with expression of sucrase-isomaltase mRNA. Supershift experiments and Western analysis showed that neither protein is Cdx-2, the only previously described SIF1-binding protein. CE-LPH1-binding protein was found only in adult animals (with low lactase activity), and there was no relationship between enzymatic activity and levels of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase mRNA. CONCLUSIONS: SIF1-binding proteins may regulate sucrase-isomaltase expression during postnatal development, but CE-LPH1-binding proteins do not seem to regulate lactase-phlorizin hydrolase expression during this period.

Regulation of sucrase and lactase in Caco-2 cells: relationship to nuclear factors SIF-1 and NF-LPH-1.

Recent studies suggest the importance of two transcription factors, Cdx-2 and NF-LPH-1, in the regulation of sucrase-isomaltase (SI) and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) gene expression, respectively. Cdx-2 accounts for the tissue specificity of sucrase expression (16), and NF-LPH-1 varies with postnatal changes in lactase activity, suggesting a role in its developmental regulation (22). We used electrophoretic mobility shift assays to study the relationship of Cdx-2 and NF-LPH-1 to SI and LPH gene expression in Caco-2 cells to provide evidence regarding the role of these factors in the development of sucrase and lactase with cellular differentiation. We found that Cdx-2 levels correlated with SI expression and that NF-LPH-1 did not correlate with LPH expression. These studies suggest a role for Cdx-2 but not for NF-LPH-1 in the development of carbohydrase expression in these cells.

Heterogeneity of intestinal lactase activity in children: relationship to lactase-phlorizin hydrolase messenger RNA abundance.

Despite extensive study in both humans and nonhuman mammals the mechanisms which regulate intestinal lactase activity, particularly during development, are incompletely understood. Our previous studies of human adults are consistent with an important role of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) mRNA abundance in determining the lactase persistence/nonpersistence phenotypes. Our intent in the present study was to determine the role of LPH mRNA in the regulation of lactase in children. We therefore studied duodenal mucosal biopsies from 39 children undergoing diagnostic upper endoscopy in whom significant small intestinal and nutritional disease was excluded. We found no relationship between the level of LPH mRNA and lactase enzymatic activity. Our observations suggest the importance of posttranscriptional mechanisms in lactase regulation in human children.

Effect of acid rain on pine needles as food for capercaillie in winter.

The effects of long-range air pollution on the chemical composition of needles of Scots pinePinus sylvestris and consequences for capercaillieTetrao urogallus feeding on the needles were studied. Samples of pine needles from localities receiving different amounts of acid rain were taken in early March. Concentrations of N and P were highest in needles from the most acidified areas, and N concentration was 35% higher in the most heavily polluted area than in the least polluted. Secondary chemicals decreased significantly with increasing acidification. Concentrations of Cd in pine needles were closely correlated with the acid deposition levels, with highest concentrations in the most polluted area. Al concentration also increased with increasing acidification. These results provide evidence that acid rain increases the nutritive value of pine needles through a fertilizing effect. Enhanced levels of certain metals are considered too low to be directly toxic to capercaillie. However, behavioural anomalies cannot be excluded.

The biosynthetic basis of adult lactase deficiency.

The intestinal brush-border enzyme lactase splits lactose into its component monosaccharides, glucose and galactose. Relative deficiency of the enzyme during adulthood is a common condition worldwide and is frequently associated with symptoms of lactose intolerance. We studied the synthesis and processing of lactase in normal and adult hypolactasic subjects using human intestinal explants in organ culture. Metabolic labeling experiments in our control subjects with [35S]methionine followed by immunoprecipitation, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and fluorography demonstrated that newly synthesized lactase is initially recognized as a precursor molecule with a relative molecular weight (Mr) of 205,000. Over the course of several hours most of the labeled lactase was converted to a mature form of 150,000 Mr. Transiently appearing forms of 215,000 and 190,000 Mr were identified and were felt to represent intermediary species generated during intracellular processing. We identified two distinct alterations in lactase biosynthesis accounting for adult hypolactasia. Studies in three deficient subjects demonstrated markedly reduced synthesis of the precursor protein though posttranslational processing appeared identical to normal. Multiple studies in a fourth deficient subject demonstrated synthesis of ample amounts of precursor lactase but reduced conversion to the mature active form of the enzyme.

Localization of sucrase-isomaltase in the rat enterocyte.

We used immune electron microscopy to study the intracellular localization of sucrase-isomaltase, an intrinsic glycoprotein of the brush border membrane, to provide insight regarding the sites of its synthesis and intracellular processing and the mechanisms of its transfer to the brush border membrane. We identified the protein by postembedding staining with protein A-colloidal gold and by preembedding staining with peroxidase. The protein was found not only in the brush border membrane, but also in the endoplasmic reticulum including nuclear envelope, Golgi complex, smooth apical vesicles, and to a variable extent in the multivesicular bodies. Our findings are consistent with current concepts of biosynthesis of plasma membrane proteins, with synthesis, translocation, and initial glycosylation occurring at the membrane of endoplasmic reticulum and further processing occurring in the Golgi complex. The findings suggest the possibility that some intracellular degradation of sucrase-isomaltase occurs. Finally, our results appear to indicate that at least the final step of intracellular movement, transfer to the brush border membrane, is mediated by smooth apical membrane vesicles.

Intestinal mucosa in diabetic rats: studies of microvillus membrane composition and microviscosity.

In experimental diabetes, a number of intestinal brush-border hydrolases and transport systems are stimulated. In this study, we assessed possible effects of diabetes on the composition and membrane fluidity of rat intestinal brush-border membranes that might correlate with these functional changes. We found similar proportions of lipid and protein in the diabetic and control preparations, although there was a considerable increase in total membrane from the diabetic rats, presumably reflecting mucosal hyperplasia. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of membrane protein revealed an increase in the bands corresponding to sucrase-isomaltase, consistent with an increased enzyme activity of sucrase. Membrane lipid analysis revealed only a decrease in fatty acids of the neutral lipid fraction of diabetics--a change that may well have occurred during membrane preparation. 1-6-Diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene fluorescence polarization data, obtained as a function of temperature, was similar for the diabetic and control rats, with a three-phase linear model superior to one- and two-phase linear or quadratic models. The overall composition of the intestinal brush-border membrane, unlike other plasma membranes, appears little affected by experimental diabetes.

Sucrase metabolism in germfree rats.

We studied degradation of the intestinal brush-border protein sucrase-isomaltase in germfree animals as well as in ex-germfree animals and conventional controls to determine the mechanism by which intestinal bacteria alter disaccharidase levels. Our results indicate that sucrase-isomaltase turnover is as rapid in germfree animals as in the other groups and are consistent with surface removal of disaccharidases by pancreatic proteases under physiological conditions. Our results also suggest that elevated disaccharidase levels in germfree animals are in large part the consequence of an increased number of mature enterocytes, which persists for at least 2 wk after exposure of animals to a conventional microbial flora.

Circadian rhythm of intestinal sucrase activity in rats. Mechanism of enzyme change.

Past investigation has revealed that the circadian rhythm of intestinal sucrase activity in rats is primarily cued by the time of feeding. We examined the mechanism of the circadian rhythm by methods involving quantitative immunoprecipitation of sucrase-isomaltase protein and study of decay of radioactively labeled protein. Rats were placed on a controlled feeding regimen (1000-1500 h) and then sacrificed at 3-h intervals over a 24-h period. Immunotitration experiments indicated that the circadian rhythm was the result of changes in the absolute amount of sucrase-isomaltase protein present and not of changes in the enzyme's catalytic efficiency. To study the mechanism of this circadian variation in sucrase-isomaltase mass, [(14)C]sodium carbonate was injected and, after maximum incorporation into brush border protein, the rats were sacrified at 3-h intervals. Sucrase-isomaltase protein was isolated by immunoprecipitation, and the decrease in total disintegrations per minute over time was used to study degradation of the protein. Enzyme degradation was not constant but exhibited a clear circadian rhythm. The period of increasing enzyme mass was characterized by virtual cessation of enzyme degradation (t((1/2)) of 38 h), and the period of declining enzyme mass by rapid degradation (t((1/2)) of 6 h or less). We found similar changes in enzyme degradation in fasted animals, demonstrating that the changes were not the result of decreased isotope reutilization during feeding. We found no evidence of a circadian rhythm in [(14)C]leucine incorporation into the protein, suggesting that enzyme synthesis was constant. These results indicate that the circadian rhythm of sucrase activity represents changes in the total amount of enzyme protein that are, at least in large part, secondary to changes in the enzyme's degradation rate.

The intestinal brush border membrane in diabetes. Studies of sucrase-isomaltase metabolism in rats with streptozotocin diabetes.

Diabetes stimulates the functional activity of the intestinal brush border membrane with enhancement of both hydrolytic enzyme activity and membrane transport systems. To determine the mechanism of this effect, we studied the effects of streptozotocin diabetes on the metabolism of one membrane protein, sucrase-isomaltase, which increases its activity in diabetes. The protein was purified and an antiserum prepared. Sucrase-isomaltase from control and diabetic rats was immunologically identical as shown by Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis of papain-solubilized mucosal proteins. The increase in sucrase enzyme activity in diabetic animals (31.0+/-1.4 U SEM 5 days after streptozotocin vs. 13.1+/-1.0 in controls) was the consequence of increased enzyme protein and not an alteration in catalytic efficiency as demonstrated by quantitative immunoprecipitin reactions. To account for increased sucrase-isomaltase protein in diabetes we studied papain-solubilized mucosal proteins labeled by injection of [(14)C]carbonate and [(14)C]leucine and analyzed incorporation into sucrase-isomaltase protein (anti-serum precipitable) and total protein (trichloroacetic acid precipitable). We found that diabetes did not affect the decay of labeled total protein, but prolonged the decay of labeled sucrase-isomaltase. t((1/2)) of sucrase-isomaltase was 4.4 h in control animals after [(14)C]carbonate injection and 8.8 and 10.2 h, respectively, 2 and 5 days after induction of streptozotocin diabetes. We obtained similar results in experiments with [(14)C]leucine with diabetes increasing t((1/2)) from 6 to 13.6 h. Diabetes did not appear to increase the rate of addition of sucrase-isomaltase to the brush border membrane, since it did not affect the 10- and 60-min incorporations of isotope into sucrase-isomaltase protein relative to incorporation into total protein and did not alter rate constants for synthesis calculated from the t((1/2)) and the change in enzyme mass over time.Thus, enhanced sucrase activity in the diabetic animal is the consequence of an increase in sucrase-isomaltase protein which develops because of a decrease in its rate of degradation.

Enhancement of intestinal sucrase activity in experimental diabetes: the role of intraluminal factors.

Experimental diabetes alters intestinal mucosal function in a variety of ways including the enhancement of both active transport processes and the activity of brush-border hydrolases. These effects could result from changes in either intraluminal factors (food, bile, pancreatic enzymes) or extraluminal factors (blood flow, hormones, nervous impulses). To determine the role of intraluminal factors we studied the effect of diabetes on segments of jejunum completely excluded from luminal continuity, but with intact blood and nerve supply. Three weeks after construction of Thiry-Vella fistulas in rats, diabetes was induced with streptozotocin. Five days later sucrase activity was measured in both the excluded segment and in the proximal jejunum. Exclusion alone resulted in a 77 per cent decrease in mucosal protein content with no change in sucrase specific activity suggesting simply a diminished number of mucosal cells. Diabetes increased the specific activity of sucrase from 0.0643 mumoles per minute per milligram of protein plus or minus 0.0077 (SEM) to 0.1074 plus or minus 0.0182 (P smaller than 0.05) in the proximal jejunum and from 0.0467 plus or minus 0.0047 to 0.1040 plus or minus 0.0191 (P smaller than 0.02) in the excluded segment. These results provide conclusive evidence that the diabetic enhancement of sucrase activity is independent of intraluminal factors and must be the consequence of extraluminal changes.