Intestinal brush border membrane catalyzes hydrolysis of pyridoxine-5'-beta-D-glucoside and exhibits parallel developmental changes of hydrolytic activities toward pyridoxine-5'-beta-D-glucoside and lactose in rats

Inborn errors in the vitamin B6 salvage enzymes associated with neonatal epileptic encephalopathy and other pathologies

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the active cofactor form of vitamin B6 is required by over 160 PLP-dependent (vitamin B6) enzymes serving diverse biological roles, such as carbohydrates, amino acids, hemes, and neurotransmitters metabolism. Three key enzymes, pyridoxal kinase (PL kinase), pyridoxine 5'-phosphate oxidase (PNPO), and phosphatases metabolize and supply PLP to PLP-dependent enzymes through the salvage pathway. In born errors in the salvage enzymes are known to cause inadequate levels of PLP in the cell, particularly in neuronal cells. The resulting PLP deficiency is known to cause or implicated in several pathologies, most notably seizures. One such disorder, PNPO-dependent neonatal epileptic encephalopathy (NEE) results from natural mutations in PNPO and leads to null or reduced enzymatic activity. NEE does not respond to conventional antiepileptic drugs but may respond to treatment with the B6 vitamers PLP and/or pyridoxine (PN). In born errors that lead to PLP deficiency in cells have also been reported in PL kinase, however, to date none has been associated with epilepsy or seizure. One such pathology is polyneuropathy that responds to PLP therapy. Phosphatase deficiency or hypophosphatasia disorder due to pathogenic mutations in alkaline phosphatase is known to cause seizures that respond to PN therapy. In this article, we review the biochemical features of in born errors pertaining to the salvage enzyme's deficiency that leads to NEE and other pathologies. We also present perspective on vitamin B6 treatment for these disorders, along with attempts to develop zebrafish model to study the NEE syndrome in vivo.

Genetic influences on carbohydrate digestion

The diversity of the human genome leads to many functional differences between individuals. The present review focuses on genetic variations, both rare and common, that are of relevance to digestion of the sugars and starches that form a major part of human diets, and considers these in relation to the evolution of our species. For example, intolerances of dietary saccharides are not usually life-threatening because symptoms can be avoided by removal of the offending sugar from the diet, and deficiencies of the relevant enzymes are in some cases found at relatively high frequencies in certain populations. This is of evolutionary interest in relation to changes in the human diet, and the lactase-persistence polymorphism, in particular, provides an interesting model. More of the world's adult population are lactase-deficient than have high lactase. The other deficiencies are however much more rare, but the significance of variant alleles at these loci, and also heterozygosity for deficiency alleles, to human nutrition and health is an area that is relatively unexplored.

Hydrolytic activity toward pyridoxine-5'-beta-D-glucoside in rat intestinal mucosa is not increased by vitamin B-6 deficiency: effect of basal diet composition and pyridoxine intake

Pyridoxine-5'-beta-D-glucoside (PNG), a glycosylated form of dietary vitamin B-6, is partially hydrolyzed in the small intestine by the cytosolic enzyme pyridoxine-5'-beta-D-glucoside hydrolase (PNG hydrolase) and by the brush border enzyme lactase phlorizin hydrolase (LPH) to release free pyridoxine (PN). This laboratory has previously shown that PNG hydrolase activity is inversely related to dietary vitamin B-6 in rats and guinea pigs. The current investigation was done to examine the effect of dietary PN on PNG hydrolytic activity and its distribution. Nutrient compositional differences between the AIN-76A and AIN-93G purified diets that were unrelated to vitamin B-6 were also examined in relation to PNG hydrolysis in rat small intestinal mucosa. Study one included rats (n = 29) that were fed the AIN-93G diet providing a range of PN concentrations for 5 wk. Rats (n = 49) in study two were fed either AIN-76A or AIN-93G each with graded concentrations of PN. In both studies, rat growth and plasma and liver pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) concentrations increased (P < 0.05) with increasing concentrations of dietary PN. PNG hydrolytic activity localized to the brush border membrane was five times that measured in the cytosol. Cytosolic PNG hydrolytic activity increased significantly with increasing dietary PN concentration in rats fed the AIN-76A, but not AIN-93G diet. Activity in the mucosal total membrane fraction did not increase in proportion to dietary PN concentration for either diet. Regardless of dietary PN concentration, the basal nutrient composition of the diets affected growth and PNG hydrolytic activity in intestinal mucosa. In contrast to previous results from this laboratory, intestinal hydrolytic activity toward PNG did not increase in vitamin B-6-deficient rats.