Influence of dietary calcium and phosphorus supply on epithelial phosphate transport in preruminant goats.

P homeostasis affected by high or low Ca and/or P supply in preruminant goats was characterized by balance studies in vivo. The main excretion pathway was the renal P(i) excretion whose extent was modulated by variations in dietary P and/or Ca supply. Faecal P excretion remained low irrespective of dietary regimen. The balance data were combined with respective in vitro data on P(i) transport properties and their adaptation in response to changes in dietary Ca and/or P intake. Therefore, P(i) transport capacities were determined by P(i) uptake into brush border membrane vesicles of jejunum and kidney. Epithelial P(i) transporters were determined semiquantitatively by northern and western blot analyses in jejunum, kidney and salivary gland. Renal P(i) transport was downregulated by doubling dietary P supply while doubling both, Ca and P as well as restrictive Ca at unchanged P led to slight, but not significant reductions in renal P(i) transport. Jejunal P(i) transport was reduced by P excess (doubling P and doubling both, Ca and P), but only NaPi IIb protein expression was significantly diminished. In conclusion, the significance of epithelial adaptation to dietary Ca and P supply for P homeostasis is discussed in preruminant goats.

Ontogenesis of epithelial phosphate transport systems in goats.

The rapid development of precocial goats in the first weeks after birth requires an adequate adaptation of phosphate transport systems to maintain the P homeostasis at each developmental stage. Here we examined the age-related development of Na+-Pi transport systems in small intestines, kidneys, and parotid glands of goats. Kinetic parameters were determined by brush-border membrane vesicle uptake studies, and relative expression of NaPi type II mRNA and protein was recorded by molecular biological methods. High intestinal Pi transport capacity was already present on the first day of life. Within the first 3 wk of life there seemed to be a change in the type of Na+-dependent Pi transporter, and NaPi IIb was expressed increasingly up to the fifth month of life. Renal Na+-Pi transport capacity was also high at birth, and this was associated with high expression levels of NaPi IIa mRNA, indicating the important role of this transporter for renal Pi reabsorption. At weaning an increase in both intestinal and renal Na+-Pi transport balanced the increasing requirements for Pi to establish the endogenous Pi cycle. Salivary Pi concentration and parotid NaPi II mRNA rose markedly to guarantee an adequate Pi supply for rumen microbes. We concluded that the high demand for Pi in young goats was assured by high basal Na+-Pi transport capacity of small intestines and kidney expressed continuously during ontogenesis.