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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

A Model of Chronic Nutrient Infusion in the Rat
Published on: August 14, 2013
Effect of starvation on glucose transport and membrane fluidity in rat intestinal epithelial cells
1Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India.
Abstract:
Studies on the surface area of microvilli (MV), fluidity of brush border membranes (BBM) and D-glucose uptake were carried out in rat intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) during progressive starvation and under re-feed conditions. The surface area of MV, fluidity of BBM and D-glucose transport through IEC membranes showed an increase during starvation when compared to well-fed controls. Re-feeding experiments restored the control values of all the three parameters within a short time. The results showed that the increase in D-glucose transport through IEC membranes during starvation is due to increased surface area of MV and increased fluidity of BBM.
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