Regulation of Na+-Pi cotransport by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in rabbit duodenal brush-border membrane

Brush-border membrane vesicles were isolated from rabbit duodenum by a Mg2+ precipitation method, and phosphate transport was analyzed by a rapid filtration technique. Uptake of inorganic phosphate (Pi) was stimulated by an inwardly directed sodium gradient, indicating the operation of a Na-Pi cotransport system in brush-border membrane vesicles. Treatment of the animals with ethane-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonate (EHDP), which is known to decrease the circulating levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], reduced within 3 days the sodium-dependent Pi transport in the brush-border vesicles. Injections of 1,25(OH)2D3 into rabbits increased within 9 h the sodium-dependent Pi transport in membranes from EHDP-treated animals as well as in untreated ones. The Na-D-glucose cotransport system appeared to be unaffected by these maneuvers. These results suggest that the Na-Pi cotransport system is an important site of regulation of intestinal transepithelial Pi transport by 1,25(OH)2)D3.