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Structural features of the rat small intestinal microvillus membrane in acute experimental diabetes

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Abstract

Experimentally induced diabetes enhances the specific activity of several microvillus membrane proteins in the rat small intestine. The increase in the specific activity of sucrase-isomaltase has been shown by others to be due to an increase in enzyme protein, raising the possibility that diabetes induces a generalized increase in microvillus membrane proteins. Since intramembrane particles (IMPs) seen on freeze-fracture replicas of microvillus membranes are thought to represent integral membrane proteins, we compared microvillus IMP densities in diabetic rats with those in control rats. In addition, mucosal sucrase, maltase, and alkaline phosphatase specific activities were measured in all animals. Diabetic rats had significantly increased sucrase and maltase but not alkaline phosphatase specific activities compared with control rats. The density of microvillus IMPs on both the protoplasmic and extracellular fracture faces of undifferentiated crypt cells and villus absorptive cells was not increased in experimental diabetes. These data indicate that diabetes does not result in a generalized increase in microvillus membrane proteins. Thus the enhanced activity of microvillus membrane proteins in diabetes appears to be highly selective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, 02115, Boston, Massachusetts

    James L. Madara, Jacqueline L. Wolf & Jerry S. Trier

  2. Harvard Medical School, 02115, Boston, Massachusetts

    James L. Madara, Jacqueline L. Wolf & Jerry S. Trier

  3. Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, 02115, Boston, Massachusetts

    James L. Madara, Jacqueline L. Wolf & Jerry S. Trier

Authors
  1. James L. Madara
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  2. Jacqueline L. Wolf
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  3. Jerry S. Trier
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Additional information

Supported by National Institutes of Health research grants AM 27972 and AM 17537. Drs. Madara and Wolf were supported in part by NRSITP AM 07121.

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Madara, J.L., Wolf, J.L. & Trier, J.S. Structural features of the rat small intestinal microvillus membrane in acute experimental diabetes. Digest Dis Sci 27, 801–806 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391373

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01391373

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