Daniel V. Kimberg

Effect of cortisone treatment on the active transport of calcium by the small intestine

It is generally recognized that glucocorticoid administration may diminish calcium absorption in vivo as well as the active transport of calcium by the intestine in vitro. Recent studies by others have emphasized the possibility of an alteration in the metabolism of vitamin D to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in accounting for the steroid effects on calcium absorption. The results obtained in the present studies fail to support this hypothesis. The present studies confirm that the administration of cortisone or other glucocorticoids to the rat interferes with the active transport of calcium by duodenal gut sacs in vitro. This abnormality is not due to an alteration in the permeability of the intestine to calcium, and it cannot be corrected by the administration of either massive doses of vitamin D(2) or modest doses of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. Experiments concerned with the effects of cortisone on the level of the vitamin D-dependent duodenal calcium-binding protein, the amount of bioassayable vitamin D activity in the mucosa, and the distribution and metabolism of (3)H-vitamin D(3), did not provide evidence in favor of a harmone-related defect in either the localization of vitamin D or its metabolism to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. Alterations in the transport of iron and D-galactose, not dependent on vitamin D, suggest that cortisone treatment may be responsible for more than a simple antagonism to the effects of vitamin D. The results of the present studies indicate that cortisone administration affects the cellular mechanisms mediating calcium transport in a manner that is opposite to the effects of vitamin D, but seems to be independent of any direct interaction with the parent vitamin or its metabolites. If a disorder in vitamin D metabolism is at all involved, it is at a step subsequent to 25-hydroxylation.

Effects of Dietary Calcium Restriction and Chronic Thyroparathyroidectomy on the Metabolism of [3H]25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 and the Active Transport of Calcium by Rat Intestine

Previous studies have shown that chronically thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) rats, fed a diet with restricted calcium but adequate phosphorus and vitamin D content, have higher levels of intestinal calcium absorption than controls. The results of recent acute experiments have suggested that parathyroid hormone (PTH) may be essential for regulating the renal conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) (25-OH-D(3)) to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25-(OH)(2)-D(3)] in response to dietary calcium deprivation. Since 1,25-(OH)(2)-D(3) is the form of the vitamin thought to be active in the intestine, increases in calcium transport mediated by this metabolite would not be expected to occur in the absence of the parathyroid glands if the preceding model is correct. The present study was undertaken to examine the chronic effects of both dietary calcium restriction and the absence of PTH on the metabolism of [(3)H]25-OH-D(3) and duodenal calcium-active transport in rats given thyroid replacement. These relatively long term studies confirm earlier observations which indicated that the adaptation of calcium absorption to a low calcium intake occurs in both sham-operated and TPTX animals. The present studies also demonstrated that despite reduced levels of 1,25-(OH)(2)-D(3) in the plasma of chronically TPTX animals fed a low calcium diet, the accumulation of this metabolite in at least one target tissue, intestinal mucosa, is identical in both the sham-operated and TPTX groups. A reduced, but continued level of 1,25-(OH)(2)-D(3) production, together with its selective accumulation by intestinal mucosa, probably explains the calcium adaptation which is observed inspite of the chronic absence of the parathyroid glands.

Adenylate cyclase in intestinal crypt and villus cells: stimulation by cholera enterotoxin and prostaglandin E1.

The secretory responses to cholera enterotoxin and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) are dependent upon elevation of the intracellular levels of cyclic AMP. Although several previous reports have suggested that intestinal secretion due to cholera enterotoxin and PGE1 may be confined to the crypt cells, this matter has been incompletely resolved. These studies were undertaken to define the activity of adenylate cyclase in villus and crypt cells from rabbit and rat intestine, and to determine the influence of enterotoxin and PGE1 on this activity, Mucosal fractions were prepared from rabbit ileum with a planing device, and from rat distal small intestine by a vibration technique. In both species base line adenylate cyclase activity was greater in crypt than in villus cells. After exposure to cholera enterotoxin in vivo, adenylate cyclase activity was enhanced in all fractions prepared from rabbit ileum, and the response was most marked in villus cells. Furthermore, adenylate cyclase in membranes prepared from both rat villus and crypt intestinal cells was responsive to the in vitro addition of PGE1. The results of these studies indicate that both villus and crypt cells contain one of the important components required for the cyclic AMP-mediated secretory response, namely, a cholera enterotoxin and PGE1-sensitive adenylate cyclase activity. Since an increased level of cyclic AMP alone may not be sufficient to evoke a secretory response, these studies do not clarify the extent to which each of these major cell types may participate in cyclic AMP-mediated secretion.

Effects of Cycloheximide on the Response of Intestinal Mucosa to Cholera Enterotoxin

Prior studies have indicated that effects of cholera enterotoxin (CT) on the small intestine are delayed in onset and involve an interaction with adenyl cyclase in the mucosa. It has also been shown that the administration of cycloheximide to rabbits in doses which inhibit crypt cell mitoses (20 mg/kg), diminishes CT-induced fluid production in jejunal loops. These latter studies have been interpreted as indications that CT-related intestinal secretion is a crypt cell function and that it is mediated by a CT-induced protein. The present study was undertaken to delineate more precisely the nature of the interaction in the intestine between cycloheximide and cholera toxin. Pretreatment of rabbits with cycloheximide reduced by 60% the secretory response to CT in isolated ileal loops with intact blood supply. Sodium and chloride flux measurements on mucosa isolated from these and control loops indicated that this antisecretory effect of cycloheximide persists in vitro. Measurements of radioactive leucine incorporation into mucosal protein indicated that the dose of cycloheximide employed inhibited protein synthesis by 90%. This inhibitory effect was shown to be independent of any effect of cycloheximide on amino acid uptake across the brush border. Measurements of adenyl cyclase activity and cyclic AMP levels in ileal mucosa of cycloheximide pretreated and control animals indicated that cycloheximide did not diminish the CT-induced increases in these parameters. These observations demonstrate that cycloheximide reduces CT-induced intestinal fluid production without interfering with the CT-induced augmentation of adenyl cyclase activity or the consequent rise in cyclic. AMP concentration. Since the antisecretory effect of cycloheximide persists in vitro, it probably involves a direct interaction of the antibiotic with mucosal cell ion transport mechanisms rather than an indirect effect mediated by other humoral or neurogenic factors. The present observations also suggest that the secretory response of the intestine to CT involves neither the synthesis of new adenyl cyclase nor that of a protein modifying its activity.

Elevation of Cyclic AMP Levels and Adenylate Cyclase Activity in Duodenal Mucosa from Vitamin D-Deficient Rats by 1α,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol (1α,25-(OH)2 D3)

A single 270 ng dose of lα,25-(OH)2D3 produced elevations in cyclic AMP content and adenylate cyclase activity in duodenal mucosa from previously vitamin D-deficient rats. No changes in jejunal or ileal cyclic AMP levels or duodenal cyclic GMP levels were observed. Since lα,25-(OH)2 D3 increased both baseline and NaF-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity, it is possible that the vitamin leads to enhanced enzyme synthesis.While parallel changes in duodenal cyclic AMP levels and active calcium absorption in response to lα,25-(OH)2D3 were observed at 6,12,24 and 48 hr after treatment, increases in calcium absorption were observed at 3 hr in duodenum and at 48 hr in ileum in the absence of changes in cyclic AMP levels. Further studies will be required to determine whether or not the changes in duodenal cyclic AMP levels are direct or indirect effects of lα,25-(OH)2D3 administration, and to determine the role, if any, of this nucleotide in the hormones’ effect on intestinal calcium absorption.

Differential sensitivity of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA synthesis to suppression by cortisone treatment

Abstract The administration of cortisone to young rats is known to result in a prompt suppression of liver DNA synthesis. The present study demonstrates that this suppression represents a selective inhibition of thymidine incorporation into nuclear DNA, and that after a single dose of cortisone to weanling animals the ratio of thymidine incorporated into nuclear DNA to that incorporated into mitochondrial DNA falls to 10–15 % of the ratio in control animals. The persistence of mitochondrial DNA synthesis in these animals despite nearly total suppression of nuclear DNA synthesis provides another example of mitochondrial autonomy. In older rats incorporation of thymidine into nuclear DNA is shown to be considerably less sensitive to inhibition than it is in more rapidly growing animals; even in the larger animals, however, it continues to be more easily suppressed than incorporation into mitochondrial DNA.

Active secretion of calcium, sodium and chloride by adult rat duodenum in vitro

Active secretion of Ca2+ is observed from the serosal to the mucosal surface across adult rat duodenum in vitro when absorptive Ca2+ flux is saturated by a high [Ca2+]. Sodium and chloride are spontaneously secreted by this tissue with Cl secretion apparently accounting for about one-third of the short-circuit current when there is no absorptive co-transport of Na+.

Effects of Magnesium Deficiency and Thyroparathyroidectomy on Calcium Active Transport by Rat Duodenum

Summary Mg deficiency was produced in rats by feeding a Mg-free diet. Ten days of dietary Mg depletion led to an increase in active duodenal Ca absorption in sham-operated animals, but this increase was abolished by thyroparathyroidectomy (TPTX). In addition, TPTX reduced Ca absorption in control animals fed a Mg-con-taining diet. More prolonged Mg deficiency was produced by feeding sham-operated animals the Mg-free diet for 19 days. This condition resulted in more marked hypo-magnesemia and a depression of Ca transport rates to the level observed in the TPTX groups. These results are consistent with the concept that adaptation of duodenal Ca transport in response to Mg deficiency occurs through an increase in parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion; however, direct blood PTH measurements will be required to prove this point. We would like to thank Gail Millar Fishbein for her expert technical assistance.