Diet-induced changes in gene expression of lactase in rat jejunum

To explore the mechanisms by which jejunal lactase activity is modified by carbohydrate and/or fat intake, mRNA levels and the absolute synthesis rate of lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) were determined in 6-wk-old rats that were fed either low-starch diets containing long-chain triacylglycerol (LCT, 73% energy as corn oil) or medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT, 66% energy as MCT, 7% energy as corn oil), or a high-starch diet (70% energy as cornstarch) for 7 days. LPH mRNA levels in the jejunum were similar between LCT-fed and MCT-fed rats, but animals fed the high-starch diet exhibited a greater (2x) LPH mRNA level than other groups. The absolute synthesis rate of LPH, estimated by the flooding dose technique using [3H]phenylalanine, was greater (2.4x) in rats fed the high-starch diet than in other groups. A short-term force-feeding experiment revealed that sucrose was able to evoke LPH mRNA levels within 12 h but that a nonmetabolizable sugar (alpha-methylglucoside) was unable to enhance it. By contrast, animals fed the high-LCT diet showed a lower (by 30%) lactase activity than rats fed the low-starch, high-MCT diet, which was accompanied by not only a reduction of immunoreactive LPH in brush-border membranes but also a reduction in lactase activity per unit weight of immunoreactive LPH. These results suggest that both gene expression and posttranslational events of LPH might be influenced by dietary manipulations; carbohydrate intake primarily increases LPH mRNA levels, and LCT accelerates inactivation and/or degradation of lactase.