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Published on: November 3, 2014
GLUT-5 expression in neonatal rats: crypt-villus location and age-dependent regulation
1Graduate School of the Biomedical Sciences, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey 07103-2714, USA.
Insights
Early high-fructose diets can induce the rat fructose transporter (GLUT-5) before weaning. This transporter
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Molecular Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- The rat fructose transporter, GLUT-5, typically emerges post-weaning.
- Early exposure to high-fructose diets can prematurely induce GLUT-5 expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the localization of GLUT-5 mRNA expression in the rat intestine.
- To determine the metabolic signals responsible for GLUT-5 induction.
- To elucidate the age-dependent regulation of GLUT-5 expression.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative analysis of GLUT-5 mRNA expression in different intestinal regions.
- In vivo intestinal perfusion studies using fructose analogs.
- Dietary manipulation with high-fructose or high-glucose diets in weanling rats and pups of varying ages.
Main Results:
- High-fructose diet increased GLUT-5 mRNA expression significantly in most villus regions, excluding the base.
- A non-metabolizable fructose analog showed a moderate increase in GLUT-5 mRNA but did not affect glucose transporter SGLT1.
- Enhanced fructose uptake and GLUT-5 expression were observed only in pups aged 14 days or older, indicating age-dependent regulation.
Conclusions:
- Fructose or its metabolites upregulate GLUT-5 expression in enterocytes, excluding crypt and villus base cells.
- GLUT-5 regulation by fructose is significantly dependent on the animal's age, with a critical window around 14 days post-birth.
Abstract:
The rat fructose transporter normally appears after completion of weaning but can be precociously induced by early feeding of a high-fructose diet. In this study, the crypt-villus site, the metabolic nature of the signal, and the age dependence of induction were determined. In weaning rats fed high-glucose pellets, GLUT-5 mRNA expression was modest, localized mainly in the upper three-fourths of the villus, and there was little expression in the villus base. When fed high-fructose pellets, GLUT-5 mRNA expression was two to three times greater in all regions except the villus base. Intestinal perfusion in vivo of a nonmetabolizable fructose analog, 3-O-methylfructose, tended to increase fructose uptake rate and moderately increased GLUT-5 mRNA abundance but had no effect on glucose uptake rates and SGLT1 mRNA abundance. Gavage feeding of high-fructose, but not high-glucose, solutions enhanced fructose uptake only in pups > or =14 days, suggesting that GLUT-5 regulation is markedly age dependent. Fructose or its metabolites upregulate GLUT-5 expression in all enterocytes, except those in the crypt and villus base and in pups <14 days old.
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