Abstract
Changes in intestinal surface carbohydrates, such as sialic acid and fucose, may influence the binding of membrane receptors to bacteria/toxins or antigens. We have recently reported (Biochim. Biophys. Acta 883, 496, 1986) that the activities of intestinal sialyltransferase (ST) and fucosyltransferase (FT) are reciprocally related and modulated by cortisone during postnatal development. These glycosyl-transferase changes may provide an enzyme basis for the shift from sialylatipn to fucosylation of the intestinal surface during maturation. To further study whether prenatal treatment of cortisone may affect the activities of these two enzymes, cortisone (20 mg/100 g body weight) was injected i.p. in pregnant rats daily beginning at 17 days of gestation. The newborn rats (<24 hr old) were sacrificed and ST and FT were assayed in the membranous (105,000 × g pellet) fraction of small intestine, using asialofetuin as an exogenous acceptor. The results show that the activity of ST was decreased by 50% in the newborn rat exposured to cortisone in utero, while the activity of FT in the cortisone-treated group was induced 2-3 fold compared to the control. This study indicates that cortisone seems able to act as a signal in utero to modulate the expression of intestinal ST and FT and suggests that the cortisone-induced changes in intestinal glycosyltransferases may play a role in the maturation of the mucosal barrier in neonates. (Support by NIH grant DK37521).
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Chu, SH., Ely, I. & Walker, W. IN UTERO CORTISONE ALTERS THE INTESTINAL SIALYL-AND FUCOSYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVIES IN NEWBORN RATS. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 266 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00593
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00593