Effect of gliadin on the distribution of sucrase among different fractions of fetal chick intestine.

The effect of peptic-tryptic digested gliadin (PT-gliadin) on the increase in sucrase activity in different fractions of tissue cultured fetal chick duodenum was investigated and compared with that of monensin, a known perturbant of the Golgi complex. PT-gliadin diminished the rise in sucrase activity in the tissue homogenate, in a brush border fraction, and in the high speed supernatant, whereas the activity in a Ca2+-pelleted fraction including endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus was unaffected. In contrast, monensin caused a proportional inhibition of the increase in sucrase activity in all fractions examined. The findings might suggest that PT-gliadin is able to affect intracellular processing of sucrase with the site of attack being distal to that of monensin in the biogenesis of the enzyme. Whether the effect of PT-gliadin on fetal gut is relevant also for celiac intestine remains to be established.