Gastrointestinal: Physiology - Digestion and absorption Flashcards
What are the only types of polysaccharides digested in the human GI tract?
Starches
What is the most common type of dietary starch? What % of dietary starch does it constitute?
Amylopectin
Constitutes ~75% of dietary starch
Optimal pH for salivary a-amylase
6.7
Is salivary a-amylase active in the stomach?
Partially (despite the optimal pH being 6.7), due to active site being protected when in the presence of substrate
What enzymes act on ingested polysaccharides in the small intestine?
Salivary and pancreatic a-amylase
Three end-products of polysaccharide digestion by amylase
- Maltose (disaccharide: glucose + glucose)
- Maltotriose (trisaccharide: glucose + glucose + glucose)
- a-limit dextrins (glucose polymers with 8x glucose molecules on average)
How do amylases act on polysaccharides?
Hydrolyse internal 1:4a linkages
Spare 1:6a linkages and terminal 1:4a linkages
How are the oligosaccharide products of polysaccharide digestion further broken down in the small intestine?
By oligosaccharidases in the brush border of small intestinal epithelial cells
Three enzymes response for breakdown of maltotriose and maltose
- Maltase
- Sucrase
- Isomaltase
What types of linkages are hydrolysed by isomaltase?
1:6a
What enzymes hydrolyse the single glycoprotein chain into sucrase and isomaltase within the brush border of small intestine epithelial cells?
Pancreatic proteases
Structure of sucrose
Fructose + glucose
Structure of lactose
Galactose + glucose
Describe the pathophysiology of lactose intolerance
Intestinal lactase activity declines to low levels during childhood and adulthood
Inability to digest oligosaccharides (including lactose) causes bloating, diarrhoea and flatulence
The increased number of osmotically active oligosaccharide molecules within the intestinal lumen causes the volume of intestinal contents to increase -> bacteria break down oligosaccharides in the colon, further increasing the number of osmotically active particles -> CO2 and H2 gas are produced from disaccharide residues in the lower small intestine and colon
How common is lactose intolerance in northern and western Europeans vs other populations?
15% (70-100% in blacks, Native Americans, Asians and Mediterranean populations)
Where is the location of maximum absorption of hexoses in the human GI tract?
Proximal small intestine (all are removed before the remains of a meal reach the terminal ileum)
How are glucose and galactose absorbed from the intestinal lumen?
Via sodium-dependent glucose transport (SGLT-1)
What is the effect of Na+ concentration on glucose and galactose absorption in the small intestine?
Increased Na+ facilitates sugar influx, decreased Na+ inhibits
What is the difference in role/distribution of SGLT-1 vs SGLT-2?
SGLT-1: secondary active transport of glucose in GIT
SGLT-2: secondary active transport of glucose in renal tubules
How is glucose transported into the interstitium following its absorption from intestinal lumen into intestinal epithelial cells?
Via GLUT2
What is glucose/galactose malabsorption?
Syndrome caused by congenital defect in SGLT-1
Results in severe diarrhoea which may be fatal if glucose/galactose are not removed from the diet
Describe how fructose is absorbed
From intestinal lumen into epithelial cells via facilitated diffusion by GLUT5
Some fructose is converted to glucose within mucosal cells
Otherwise fructose is transported from epithelial cells into interstitium via GLUT2 (as for glucose and galactose)
What is the effect of phlorizin on glucose absorption in the small intestine (and reabsorption in the renal tubules)?
Depresses (acts as an inhibitor of SGLT-1 and SGLT-2)
What is the effect of insulin on intestinal transport of carbohydrates?
Little effect
Maximal rate of glucose absorption from the intestine
~120g/h
Where does protein ingestion begin?
In the stomach
Describe the formation, release and activity of pepsins
Secreted as inactivated precursors pepsinogens
Pepsinogens activated by gastric acid
Hydrolyse bonds between aromatic amino acids and a second amino acid to produce polypeptides of varying sizes
Activity terminated when gastric contents mixes with alkaline pancreatic juice in the duodenum and jejunum (optimal pH for pepsins is 1.6-3.2)
What is the difference between pepsinogens I and II?
Pepsinogen I: found only in acid-secreting regions
Pepsinogen II: found in acid-secreting regions and the pyloric region
What do pepsinogen I levels correlate with?
Maximal acid secretion
Optimal pH of pepsins
1.6-3.2
Describe the process of protein digestion
Begins in stomach with pepsins hydrolysing bonds between aromatic amino acid and a second amino acid to produce polypeptides of varying size
Polypeptides further digested by endopeptidases (trypsin, chymotrypsins, and elastase) in the small intestine
Final digestion to amino acids occurs in three locations:
- 1) Within the lumen
- 2) At the mucosal cell surface by aminopeptidases, carboxypeptidases, endopeptidases, and dipeptidases in the brush border
- 3) Some dipeptides and tripeptides are actively transported into intestinal cells and hydrolysed by intracellular peptidases
Name three types of endopeptidases
- Trypsin
- Chymotrypsins
- Elastase
Describe how pancreatic processes are released and activated
Secreted as inactivated proenzymes
Trypsinogen is converted to trypsin by enterokinase, a brush border hydrolase, when the pancreatic juice enters the duodenum
Enterokinase contains 41% polysaccharide which prevents it from being digested before it can exert its effect
Trypsin then converts proenzymes* into active enzymes (including trypsinogen, producing an auto-catalytic chain reaction)
- proenzymes include chymotrypsinogen, proelastase, and procarboxypeptidases A and B
What is the result of congenital enterokinase deficiency?
Protein malnutrition
What is the difference in activity of endopeptidases vs exopeptidases?
Endopeptidases: act at interior peptide bonds
Exopeptidases: hydrolyse amino acids at carboxyl ends of polypeptides
Four aromatic amino acids
- Phenylaladine
- Histidine
- Tryptophan
- Tyrosine
How many different transport systems transport amino acids into enterocytes? How many of these are Na+ or Cl- dependent? How many are independent? How many transport systems move amino acids from enterocytes to the interstitium?
7 total transporting into enterocytes
5 involve co-transport with Na+, and 2 of these 5 also require Cl-
2 are independent
5 transporting from enterocytes to interstitium -> portal blood
How are dipeptides and tripeptides transported into enterocytes?
Via PepT1 (peptide transporter 1), H+ dependent
Where does the majority of amino acid absorption occur?
Duodenum and jejunum
What % of digested protein comes from ingested food? Where does the remaining % come from?
50% from ingested food
25% from proteins in digestive juices
25% from desquamated mucosal cells
What % of protein in the small intestine escapes digestion and absorption?
2-5% (some of this is eventually digested by bacterial action in the colon)
Where does the protein present in stool come from?
Almost all is from bacteria and cellular debris (not dietary)
What happens to peptidase activity in the setting of ileal resection?
Increased peptidase activity
Describe the pathophysiology of Hartnup disease
Congenital defect in the mechanism of transport of neutral amino acids in the intestine and renal tubules
Results in cystinuria but not nutritional deficiency of these amino acids, because peptide transport compensates
How is IgA absorbed by infants from maternal colostrum?
Absorption is by endocytosis from intestinal lumen to mucosa and subsequent exocytosis from mucosa to circulation
Describe the difference in protein digestion/absorption between infants and adults?
Infants absorb moderate amounts of undigested proteins (including IgA)
Absorption of intact proteins declines sharply after weaning
What is the % incidence of food allergy in children?
8%
Where are protein antigens (particularly bacterial and viral proteins) absorbed? What is the significance of this?
In large M (microfold) cells, specialised intestinal epithelial cells overlying aggregates of lymphoid tissue called Peyer patches
Antigens activate lymphocytes which enter the circulation but later return to intestinal mucosa and other epithelia where they secrete IgA in response to subsequent exposures (“secretory immunity”)
Describe the process of nucleic acid digestion and absorption
Nucleic acids split into nucleotides in the intestine by pancreatic nucleases
Nucleotides split into nucleosides and phosphoric acid by enzymes on luminal surfaces of mucosal cells
Nucleosides are then split into their constituent sugars and purine and pyrimidine bases
Bases absorbed by active transport
Where does most fat digestion begin?
Duodenum
Describe the activity of pancreatic lipase
Hydrolyses 1- and 3-bonds of triglycerides, producing free fatty acids and 2-monoglycerides
Describe the activity of pancreatic colipase
Secreted in inactivated proform, activated by trypsin in the intestinal lumen, and binds to bile acids on the surface of triglyceride droplet to anchor lipase and allow for its lipolytic activity
Describe the activity of cholesterol esterase
Catalyses hydrolysis of cholesterol esters, esters of fat-soluble vitamins, phospholipids, and triglycerides
What causes fat emulsification in the small intestine?
Detergent action of bile acids, phosphatidylcholine, and monoglycerides
What are micelles? How are they formed and what is their role?
Cylindrical aggregates with hydrophobic centres containing cholesterol, and amphipathic phospholipids and monoglycerides oriented with hydrophilic heads facing out and hydrophobic tails in the centre
Formed from interaction of bile acids and lipids
Help keep lipids in solution and transport them to intestinal brush border for absorption
Describe the process of fat digestion and absorption
Pancreatic lipase (with activity enhanced by colipase) liberates fatty acids from triglycerides
Cholesterol esterase hydrolyses cholesterol esters, esters of fat-soluble vitamins, phospholipids and triglycerides
Fats are emulsified by the detergent action of bile acids, phosphatidylcholine, and monoglycerides in the small intestine
Micelles are formed (composed of cholesterol, fatty acids, phospholipids and monoglycerides with hydrophobic core and hydrophilic outer), providing a mechanism for transport through the unstirred layer to the mucosal brush border
Lipids are then absorbed mostly by passive diffusion
Within enterocytes, absorbed fatty acids and monoglycerides are re-esterified to form triglyceride
Apoproteins synthesised in rough ER are coated around lipid cores to produce chylomicrons, which are secreted from the basolateral membrane via exocytosis and enter the lymphatics (too large to pass through junctions between capillary endothelial cells)
What % of dietary fat is absorbed with a moderate fat intake? Is this true for both adults and infants?
95% or more
Processes involved in fat absorption are not fully mature at birth and so infants fail to absorb 10-15% of ingested fat
Where is absorption of LCFAs the greatest? How does this differ from SCFAs?
LCFAs: proximal small intestine (but appreciable amounts also absorbed in ileum)
SCFAs: produced in and absorbed from the colon
Three causes of steatorrhoea
- Destruction or deficiency of exocrine pancreas (reduced lipase secretion)
- Hypersecretion of gastric acid (inhibits lipase)
- Defective reabsorption of bile acids in distal ileum (e.g. due to terminal ileum resection or disease)
What % of ingested fat appears in faeces when bile is excluded from the intestine?
Up to 50%
Why does the amount of fat in stools increase with failure of bile acid reabsorption in the distal ileum?
Liver cannot increase rate of bile acid production to sufficient degree to compensate for loss