Heterogeneity of Brush-border-membrane Vesicles from Rat Small Intestine Prepared by a Precipitation Method Using Mg/EGTA

Brush border membrane vesicles from rat small intestine were isolated by a Mg/EGTA precipitation method. Further fractionation either by free flow electrophoresis or by sucrose density gradient centrifugation leads to subfractions which differ with respect to enzyme enrichment factors, transport properties for D-glucose and protein pattern analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A relative enrichment of (Na+ + K+)-ATPase is found in one fraction, whereas in another fraction maltase, aminopeptidase M and alkaline phosphatase are relatively enriched. The fractions show different properties of D-glucose transport under tracer exchange conditions and a different inhibition of D-glucose transport by phlorizin and phloretin. These results indicate that the vesicles obtained from rat small intestine by this cation precipitation method are not homogeneous. The inhomogeneity cannot be due to a crosscontamination by membranes other than from the cell envelopment, as none of the fractions show a significant enrichment of succinate--cytochrome c oxidoreductase, KCN-resistant NADH oxidoreductase or glucosaminidase. The inhomogeneity might be due either to a crosscontamination by basal-lateral membranes or to membranes derived from epithelial cells not yet fully differentiated.