Taurine is an essential amino acid in some mammals and is conditionally essential in humans. Taurine is an abundant component of meat and fish-based foods and has been used as an oral supplement in the treatment of disorders such as cystic fibrosis and hypertension. The purpose of this investigation was to identity the relative contributions of the solute transporters involved in taurine uptake across the luminal membrane of human enterocytes. Distinct transport characteristics were revealed following expression of the candidate solute transporters in Xenopus laevis oocytes: PAT1 (SLC36A1) is a H + -coupled, pH-dependent, Na + -and Cl − -independent, low-affinity, high-capacity transporter for taurine and β-alanine; TauT (SLC6A6) is a Na + -and Cl − -dependent, high-affinity, low-capacity transporter of taurine and β-alanine; ATB 0,+ (SLC6A14) is a Na + -and Cl − -dependent, high-affinity, low-capacity transporter which accepts β-alanine but not taurine. Taurine uptake across the brush-border membrane of human intestinal Caco-2 cell monolayers showed characteristics of both PAT1-and TauT-mediated transport. Under physiological conditions, Cl − -dependent TauT-mediated uptake predominates at low taurine concentrations, whereas at higher concentrations typical of diet, Cl − -independent PAT1-mediated uptake is the major absorptive mechanism. Real-time PCR analysis of human duodenal and ileal biopsy samples demonstrates that PAT1, TauT and ATB 0,+ mRNA are expressed in each tissue but to varying degrees. In conclusion, this study is the first to demonstrate both taurine uptake via PAT1 and functional coexpression of PAT1 and TauT at the apical membrane of the human intestinal epithelium. PAT1 may be responsible for bulk taurine uptake during a meal whereas TauT may be important for taurine supply to the intestinal epithelium and for taurine capture between meals.

Calcium absorption in intestine and kidney involves transport through the apical membrane, cytoplasm, and basolateral membrane of the epithelial cells. Apical membrane calcium influx channels have recently been described in rabbit (epithelial calcium channel, ECaC) and rat (calcium transport protein, CaT1). We amplified from human duodenum a 446-base partial cDNA probe (ECAC2) having a predicted amino acid similarity of 97% to rat CaT1. Duodenum, but not ileum, colon, or kidney, expressed a 3-kb transcript. A larger transcript was also found in placenta and pancreas, and a different, faint transcript was found in brain. In duodenal biopsies from 20 normal volunteers, expression varied considerably but was not significantly correlated with vitamin D metabolites. This signal correlated with calbindin-D(9k) (r = 0.48, P < 0.05) and more strongly with the plasma membrane calcium ATPase PMCA1 (r = 0.83, P < 0.001). These data show that although individual variations in calcium channel transcripts are not vitamin D dependent, expression of genes governing apical entry and basolateral extrusion are tightly linked. This may account for some of the unexplained variability in calcium absorption.

The intestinal basolateral membrane Ca(2+)-transporting adenosinetriphosphatase is the energy-dependent step in the absorption of dietary Ca2+ by the vitamin D-dependent transcellular pathway. Multiple plasma membrane Ca(2+)-pump isoforms are produced from four genes (PMCA1 to 4) and alternative mRNA splicing. We have studied which isoforms are detectable in adult human and rat gastrointestinal tissues by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, sequencing, and blotting. PMCA1 was the predominant gene product amplified from human small intestinal mucosa, although a minor additional variant lacking the exon at splice site B was detected, which resembled that described for PMCA4. Of the variants described at site C, only the shortest transcript of PMCA1 was amplified; both previously described forms of PMCA4 were found, particularly in colon where PMCA4 predominated. From rat intestinal cDNA, mixed primer PCR amplified PMCA1 and a novel sequence, the rat PMCA4 homologue, which was expressed in many tissues including small intestinal muscle and colon. However, PMCA1 was overwhelmingly predominant in the mucosa of the small intestine, being most abundant in duodenum. These results suggest the involvement of the Ca(2+)-pump isoform PMCA1b in intestinal Ca2+ absorption.

1. Two rat clones have been isolated which are similar to known calcitonin-receptor sequences. One of these does not have the distribution expected of a calcitonin receptor. It is widely distributed, with extremely high levels of expression in the lung, where it is associated with the blood vessels. 2. This rat sequence may represent the receptor for calcitonin-gene-related peptide or islet amyloid polypeptide. Both have binding activity in the lung and are potent vasodilators. The gene represented by this sequence may therefore play an important role in the maintenance of vascular tone.