Dietary-induced rapid decrease of microvillar carbohydrase activity in rat jejunoileum

Activities of several carbohydrases and peptidases were determined in proximal, middle, and distal thirds of the jejunoileum of female 16-wk-old rats that were fed a high-starch (70 cal%), low-fat (7 cal%) diet for 2 wk and also in rats that (after this introductory period) were fed an isocaloric low-starch (5 cal%), high-fat (73 cal%) diet for 1, 2, and 3 days. The body weight changes, food intake, amount of protein per intestinal segment, and rate of enterocyte migration were practically the same in all groups during these experimental periods. The decreased intake of starch was followed by a rapid decrease (40-80%) of carbohydrases (lactase, sucrase, maltase, and glucoamylase) within the first 24 h in total intestinal homogenates--and as studied in cryostat serial sections--in all regions of the jejunal villus-crypt columns, and mainly in proximal and middle segments. In contrast, the activities of leucylnaphthylamidase and L-phenylalanylglycine hydrolase exhibited little change except for a slight temporary decrease of activity on the 1st day in the proximal segment only (25-30%). Thus these data show that a decrease of starch content in an isocaloric diet evokes a rapid decrease in the activity of microvillar carbohydrases and that activity of these enzymes both in mature and immature enterocytes is capable of reacting to a change (decrease) of dietary carbohydrate content.