The effect of chloramphenicol on mucosal transference of glucose in mice; the role of intestinal alkaline phosphatase in this process.

The effect of chloramphenicol (CAP) on the mucosal transference of glucose in mice and its relation with the activities of different small intestinal enzymes were studied. CAP produced an increase in the mucosal transference of glucose in jejunum and a decrease in ileum. However, CAP reduced the activity of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase in both of these segments. Treatment with ouabain could not alter the effects of CAP. Under similar experimental conditions, the activity of alkaline phosphatase (AP) was reduced in jejunum but increased in ileum. In presence of theophylline, the CAP-induced increase in the transference in jejunum was further enhanced, whereas in acute experiments with ileum theophylline counteracted the reduced transference to the control level. In presence of Zn2+, CAP-induced changes in jejunum were reversed whereas in ileum the decrease was more pronounced. Like AP, CAP altered the activity of Ca(2+)-ATPase in both segments. It is proposed that in presence of CAP an inverse relationship exists between the activity of AP and the glucose transference in these segments. It is further revealed that such differential changes in the transference of glucose may be due to site specific alterations in the activity of AP.