Effect of undernutrition and hormone treatments on the absorption of proteins in suckling rat intestine.

The absorption of 125I-labeled BSA and gamma-globulin was significantly (P less than 0.01) elevated in UN pups compared to the controls. Administration of pharmacological doses of cortisone, thyroxine, and insulin markedly (P less than 0.001) reduced the absorption of BSA and gamma-globulin in UN pups. There was no significant difference in the binding of 125I-labeled BSA and gamma-globulin to microvillus membrane in the control and experimental animals. However, the degradation of labeled BSA and gamma-globulin by luminal content was considerably higher (55-70%) in controls compared to UN pups. This suggested that observed increase in the absorption of proteins in nutritionally deprived pups was unrelated to their binding to the microvillus surface but presumably it is a consequence of reduced luminal degradation together with delayed maturational development as suggested by the pattern of brush border enzymes in the UN intestinal tissue.