Preparation and properties of brush-border membrane vesicles from human small intestine

This study describes a simple and rapid method for the preparation of brush-border membrane vesicles from intestinal biopsies. The specific activities of sucrase, amino peptidase N, and alkaline phosphatase in these vesicles were the same as those in vesicles prepared from intestinal segments. The vesicles from all the regions of the small intestine can transport d-glucose in an Na+-dependent manner. The rates of transport of d-glucose presented here are far higher than previously reported. The method should have a wide applicability to studies of transport mechanisms and the distribution of transport processes within the intestine.