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Dietary Carbohydrates Influence The Structure And Function Of The Intestinal Alpha-Glucosidases, Mohammad Chegeni

Open Access Dissertations

As the primary products of starch digestion by pancreatic α-amylase, maltooligosaccharides (including maltose) are the main substrates for the α-glucosidases at the intestinal brush border. Here, maltose was shown to induce the formation of a higher molecular weight (HMW) sucrase-isomaltase (SI) species in Caco-2 cells that sorts more quickly to the enterocyte surface to act as a digestive enzyme. As this finding suggested a maltose sensing ability of small intestinal enterocytes, molecular mechanisms associated with the maturation and trafficking of HMW SI were further investigated. A pulse-chase experiment using [ ³⁵S]-methionine revealed a higher rate of early trafficking and …