Effect of glycylglycine and glycine on jejunal absorption rate of L-histidine in man in vivo.

1. Using a double-lumen tube jejunal perfusion system in vivo, the effects of glycylglycine and glycine on the jejunal transfer rate of L-histidine have been studied in a 30 cm jejunal segment, in six Zambian African men. Data on the effect of L-histidine on glycylglycine transfer rate have also been obtained. The solutions perfused in each subject contained (A) L-histidine (100 m-mole l.(-1)), (B) L-histidine (100 m-mole l.(-1)) and glycylglycine (50 m-mole l.(-1)), (C) glycylglycine (50 m-mole l.(-1)), and (D) L-histidine (100 m-mole l.(-1)) and glycine (100 m-mole l.(-1)).2. Whereas the presence of glycine in the perfusing fluid significantly impaired the absorption rate of L-histidine (P < 0.01), glycylglycine had no significant effect. The presence of L-histidine in the perfusing fluid had no significant effect on the rate of glycylglycine absorption. When compared with results for glycine absorption rate in twelve Zambian African subjects in another study, the presence of L-histidine produced a significant impairment in the rate of glycine absorption (P < 0.001).3. The results demonstrate a mutual inhibition between the rates of L-histidine and glycine absorption. The lack of a similar inhibition between L-histidine and glycylglycine is consistent with the concept of independent transfer mechanisms for amino acids and dipeptides in the human jejunum.