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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
Ex Vivo Intestinal Sacs to Assess Mucosal Permeability in Models of Gastrointestinal Disease
Published on: February 9, 2016
Dietary zinc and metallothionein on small intestinal disaccharidases activity in mice
Cuong D Tran1, Johanna Cool, Cory J Xian
1Gastroenterology Unit, Children, Youth and Women's Health Service, 72 King William Rd, North Adelaide, SA 5006, Australia. cuong.tran@health.sa.gov.au
Aim:
To examine the effect of increasing dietary zinc (Zn) intake and the lack of metallothionein (MT) expression on activity of small intestinal disaccharidases.
Methods:
MT-I and II knockout (MT-/-) and wild-type (MT+/+) female mice at 3.5 wk of age were randomly fed with a diet containing 2 (2 Zn), 15 (15 Zn) or 50 (50 Zn) mg Zn/kg (n = 8/group/genotype) for 5 wk. Small intestinal segments (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) were collected and either fixed in 10% formalin for histological analysis or snap frozen in liquid nitrogen for sucrase, lactase and maltase activity analyses.
Results:
Plasma Zn was significantly (P < 0.05) lower (33%) in MT-/- compared with MT+/+ mice fed the 2 Zn diet. Villus height and crypt depth were increased by approximately 15% in MT+/+ mice compared with MT-/- mice. Duodenal disaccharidase activities were significantly higher in MT+/+ compared with MT-/- mice particularly in those fed the 2 Zn diet. For the 50 Zn diet, jejunal sucrase and lactase activities were significantly higher in MT-/- (13 313 ± 2314; 4107 ± 364 μmol glucose/well/min/g tissue, respectively) compared with MT+/+ mice (7054 ± 608; 1818 ± 174). Similarly, ileal lactase activities were higher in MT-/- (1480 ± 192) compared with MT+/+ (629 ± 353) mice particularly those fed the 2 Zn diet.
Conclusion:
Increasing dietary Zn has little effect on disaccharidases activity in MT wild-type mice. The presence of MT may enhance morphological and functional development of the gut.
