Active Sugar Transport by the Small Intestine

Tris-disrupted and intact brush border membrane preparations from mucosa of hamster jejunum were capable of preferentially binding actively transported D-glucose in a similar manner. Density gradient centrifugation of the Tris-disrupted brush borders indicated that D-glucose was bound to a fraction containing the cores or inner material of the microvilli. The properties of this binding were examined with the Tris-disrupted brush border preparation. Actively transported sugars competitively inhibited preferential D-glucose binding, whereas no effect was observed with nonactively transported sugars. Neither actively nor nonactively transported amino acids affected D-glucose binding. D-Glucosamine, which is not actively transported, was inhibitory to preferential D-glucose binding as well as to the active transport of D-glucose by everted sacs of hamster jejunum. No inhibitory effect was observed with the same concentration of D-galactosamine. Preferential D-glucose binding was also inhibited by sulfhydryl-reacting compounds, Ca(2+), and Li(+) ions. On the other hand, Mg(2+) was shown to be stimulatory and Na(+), NH(4) (+), and K(+) had no effect on this phenomenon. The results of these experiments suggest that preferential D-glucose binding to brush borders is related to the initial step in active sugar transport by the small intestine.