Active transport of calcium by intestine: effects of dietary calcium

Abstract

The small intestine of the rat responds facultatively to a diet low in Ca by increasing the active transport of the cation. The effects of calcium deprivation were studied with everted gut sacs and with duodenal slices in vitro, and the experiments demonstrate that following this stimulus almost the entire small intestine of a young rat can transfer calcium from the mucosa to the serosa against concentration gradients. The active transport is maximal in duodenum, less in ileum, and least in the mid small intestine. Following the low-Ca diet, duodenal gut sacs transport Sr89 against concentration gradients, although strontium is transferred much less readily than is calcium. Vitamin D is required for the adaptive response of the active transport in duodenum and ileum. Younger rats respond to Ca deprivation earlier and more markedly than older animals. Neither thyroparathyroidectomy, hypophysectomy, or adrenalectomy prevent response to the low-Ca diet, although these ablations do affect the active transport mechanism in rats on a given diet.