Short-term malnutrition in neonatal rabbits. I. Brush border enzymes.

Seventy-two hour starvation in neonatal rabbits was studied. Fasted animals received no feeds, only water every 8 h for 72 h. Fed animals were suckled by the dam. There was no difference in birth weight, serum albumin, blood urea nitrogen, electrolytes, or urine specific gravity between fed and fasted animals. Weight at 72 hr was less in fasted (p less than 0.01) than fed rabbits. Serum cortisol (p less than 0.05) and corticosterone (p less than 0.01) levels were higher in the fasted group. Proximal and distal small bowel homogenates had less DNA and protein (p less than 0.01) in the fasted group, but the protein/DNA ratio was the same in the proximal and distal small bowel homogenates from both groups. Sucrase (E.C.3.2.1.26) specific activity was significantly increased in proximal small bowel homogenates from the fasted group (p less than 0.01) but was the same in distal small bowel homogenates from both groups. Sucrase total activity per proximal segment was the same in fed and fasted animals but was significantly less per segment in distal small bowel homogenates from fasted animals. Alkaline phosphatase (E.C.3.1.3) total and specific activity was decreased in proximal (p less than 0.01) and distal (p less than 0.05) small bowel homogenates from the fasted group. Lactase (E.C.3.2.1.23) total activity was decreased in proximal and distal (p less than 0.01) small bowel homogenates from the fasted group but lactase specific activity was unchanged. Thus, a brief period of malnutrition in neonatal animals can result in a variety of regional functional changes in the gastrointestinal mucosa.