Effects of long- and medium-chain triglycerides on amino acid uptake in rat intestinal brush border membrane vesicles.

1. Uptake of L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-proline and L-lysine into brush border membrane vesicles from rats fed either a medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) or a long-chain triglyceride (LCT) diet was studied under conditions of the presence of absence of a Na+ gradient. 2. From the results of initial rate, Na(+)-dependent transport in LCT feeding were lower than in feeding MCT. The Na(+)-independent transport did not vary in either group except for L-lysine uptake. 3. For L-leucine, L-phenylalanine and L-proline in Na+ dependence, kinetic analysis revealed 4-6-fold smaller Vmax values in LCT group than in MCT group. L-Lysine in Na(+)-independent transport was 10-fold lower in LCT group than in MCT group. The Km values were not affected by feeding the LCT or MCT diet. 4. It is clear that amino acid transport is regulated by different types of dietary fat. We consider that the alteration of transport activity is attributable to the changes in number of membrane-bound transport carriers but not to their affinity.