Development of L-glutamine-stimulated electroneutral sodium absorption in piglet jejunum

Glutamine is the primary metabolic fuel of the small intestine. To determine the effects of glutamine on intestinal electrolyte transport, piglet (3 days to 3 wk old) jejunum was bathed in Ussing chambers in a buffer containing 10 mM serosal glucose, and the effects of different concentrations of mucosal L-glutamine and D-glucose on short-circuit current and transmucosal Na+ and Cl- transport were measured. Resting jejunum secreted Na+ and Cl- in an electrogenic manner. In contrast to mucosal D-glucose (30 mM), which promoted electrogenic Na+ absorption (1.8 mueq.cm-2.h-1), mucosal L-glutamine (30 mM) stimulated both Na+ (2.7 mueq.cm-2.h-1) and Cl- (2.2 mueq.cm-2.h-1) absorption. This NaCl-absorptive jejunal response depended on the presence of both Na+ and Cl-, did not appear until animals were greater than 7 days of age, and was not observed with glucose, phenylalanine, or mannitol. Serosal, as well as mucosal, glutamine (30 mM) promoted electroneutral NaCl absorption. A small electrogenic Na(+)-absorptive response to L-glutamine was also observed. The effect of L-glutamine on jejunal NaCl transport resembles that of other metabolic fuels on colonic transport; its mechanism remains to be determined. We conclude that glutamine promotes electroneutral salt absorption in the small intestine.