Experimental lead poisoning and intestinal transport of glucose, amino acids, and sodium

Juvenile rats fed a diet containing 1% lead acetate for 7 weeks, in addition to an impaired growth rate and renal function derangements, suffered malabsorption of glucose and certain amino acids, as assessed by an in vivo perfusion technique. The reduction in glucose absorption ranged between 10% and 31% when the carbohydrate was pumped in concentrations of 2-80 mM. This alteration was compatible with a noncompetitive type of transport inhibition. The intestinal absorption of glycine, lysine, and phenylalanine were, respectively, decreased 22, 18, and 15% when these amino acids were present at 1 mM levels. Sodium transport was severely reduced (57.6 +/- 17.9 (SEM) vs. 124.2 +/- 17.4 muEq/min-cm) and intestinal mucosa (Na+-K+)-ATPase was concomitantly lower in the lead-intoxicated rats (186.4 +/- 19.0 vs 268.4 +/- 29.8 nmol P/min-mg protein). However, this enzyme was not altered in liver and kidney. Furthermore, intestinal mucosa fructose-1,6-diphosphatase, succinic dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, and tryptophan hydroxylase were not different in experimental and control animals. These studies substantiate the presence of functional and biochemical abnormalities in the intestinal mucosa of young rats when fed substantial amounts of a soluble lead salt. It is, therefore, reasonable to accept the possibility that physiologic damage occurs in tissues directly subjected to high and persistent levels of a toxic agents, as it occurs in other organs, underscoring the parallelism between transport mechanisms at the renal and intestinal levels.