Active absorption of selenate by rat ileum

Intestinal absorption of selenate and selenite in rats was investigated in vitro by using everted sacs of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Only the ileal sacs incubated with selenate accumulated selenium in the serosal fluid during the incubation. Selenium transport across the ileum did not occur against a concentration gradient when selenite instead of selenate was present in the incubation medium. Sulfate and thiosulfate significantly inhibited ileal selenate transport. Decreasing the activity of the Na+,K+-ATPase, by the addition of ouabain, resulted in a significant reduction of concentrative selenate transport by the ileum. Furthermore L-leucine, but not D-glucose and D-galactose, significantly reduced selenium absorption by ileal sacs incubated with selenate. It is concluded from these results that selenate is transported actively by the ileal mucosa and that a common transport mechanism for selenate and sulfate exists. The Na+-gradient across the intestinal brush border membrane seems to be capable of energizing active ileal selenate transport.