Fat feeding stimulates only one of the two mRNAs encoding rat intestinal membranous and secreted alkaline phosphatase.

We have identified two mRNAs in rat intestinal mucosa by Northern blot analysis, using cloned cDNAs encoding human placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP). Probes from both the NH2- and COOH-terminal ends of the human PLAP coding region identified, in rat intestine (especially duodenum), an mRNA of nearly identical size (3 kb) to that found in human placenta. A smaller mRNA (2.7 kb), detected only with the COOH-terminal probe, was more prevalent in jejunum. Following feeding of triacylglycerols, the prevalence of the 2.7 kb mRNA increased over 2-fold. The tissue distribution and response of the 2.7 kb mRNA to fat feeding corresponds exactly with the known behavior of the secreted alkaline phosphatase.