Hereditary Disorders of Intestinal Transport

Normal and Abnormal Intestinal Absorption by Humans

“…There are other diseases which cause malabsorption of only one or a few related nutrients and which do not produce the malabsorption syndrome. The most important of these are categorized in Table 4 (19).…”

Genetic regulation of enterocyte differentiation

“…Microvilli expand considerably the surface area over which nutrient digestion and absorption can take place. Genetic defects affecting any one of these three important components of enterocyte differentiation can lead to increasing morbidity and death (Milne, 1974;Freiburghaus et al 1976;Phillips & Schmitz, 1992). Other factors affecting differentiation include interactions taking place between enterocytes and the underlying mesodermal tissue (Haffen et al 1989) and between enterocytes and the gut-associated immune system (Smith, 1991).…”