Transcriptional regulation of intestinal hydrolase biosynthesis during postnatal development in rats

Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) and sucrase-isomaltase (SI) are intestine-specific microvillus membrane hydrolases whose specific activities demonstrate reciprocal regulation during development but whose mechanisms of regulation have not been fully defined. To investigate transcriptional control of these two proteins, the rat LPH and SI genes were cloned, and antisense probes for preprocessed mRNAs (pre-mRNAs) were developed from intron sequence. LPH mRNA, as measured by quantitative ribonuclease (RNase) protection assays, was abundant before weaning and decreased two- to fourfold during weaning, whereas SI mRNA was first detected 14 days after birth and increased rapidly to abundant levels by age 28 days. LPH and SI pre-mRNA levels paralleled those of their respective mRNAs. LPH transcriptional rate declined during weaning, whereas that of SI increased during this time as determined by RNase protection assays of pre-mRNAs and nuclear run-on assays. In the adult rat, LPH mRNA was restricted to the jejunum and proximal ileum, whereas SI mRNA was detected throughout the small intestine, a pattern regulated by transcriptional rate as confirmed by nuclear run-on assays. Lactase and sucrase specific activities correlated well with their respective protein and mRNA concentrations in all experiments. We conclude that gene transcription plays a major role in the developmental and horizontal regulation of LPH and SI biosynthesis and that these two genes are regulated differently in rat small intestine.