INFLUENCE OF THE THYROID GLAND ON THE ACCUMULATION OF SUGARS IN RAT INTESTINAL MUCOSA DURING ABSORPTION

The validity of assessing changes in intestinal absorption mechanisms for dietary sugars with non-metabolizable analogues (glucalogues)

1. Transfer potentials were obtained from everted jejunal sacs prepared from fed euthyroid, fasted euthyroid, fed hypothyroid and fasted hypothyroid rats by addition of serial concentrations of the dietary sugars glucose and galactose and the glucalogues 3-0-methyl glucose, alpha-methyl glucoside and 6-deoxy-D-glucose to the incubation fluids. The kinetic parameters of 'apparent Michaelis constant' (apparent Km) and maximum transfer potential difference (pdmax) obtained from the results were used to characterize the changes in the electrogenic transfer mechanisms for these substrates. 2. Analysis of the significant differential changes in values for 'apparent Km' and pdmax for the two dietary sugars and the three glucalogues indicated heterogeneity in the mechanisms for sugar transfer across the intestine and suggested a minimum of four possible carriers. 3. The validity of using glucalogues to characterize changes in the transfer mechanisms for the dietary sugars in different dietary and hormonal states was assessed. None of the kinetic parameters for electrogenic glucalogue transfer matched those for the dietary sugars in all the experimental conditions. The employment of glucalogues to assess changes in electrogenic transfer mechanisms for dietary sugars can thus lead to invalid conclusions. 4. Fasting decreased the 'apparent Km' of dietary sugars and the glucalogues. However, the pdmax values for glucose, galactose, and alpha-methyl glucoside decreased whereas those for 3-0-methyl glucose and 6-deoxy-D-glucose did not. 5. Hypothyroidism showed different effects in fed and fasted intestine. Because hypothyroidism induced a reduction in food intake, separation of the direct effects of the condition on electrogenic transfer from reduced food intake effect was not possible.