Vitamin D and mineral deficiencies increase the plasma membrane calcium pump of chicken intestine

The basolateral membrane of the enterocyte was previously shown to contain an adenosine triphosphate-dependent calcium pump. Using immunological procedures, the localization of the Ca²⁺ pump in chick intestine, and the effect of dietary variables on the concentration of the pump, were studied. A monoclonal antibody produced against the human erythrocyte calcium pump was shown to cross-react with a chick intestinal Ca²⁺ pump epitope. The most intense staining of intestinal tissue, as determined immunohistochemically, occurred at the basolateral membrane of the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon, with minor staining elsewhere. By the Western blotting procedure, vitamin D repletion of vitamin D-deficient chicks was shown to significantly increase the concentration of the Ca²⁺ pump epitope of duodenal, jejunal, and ileal mucosa by a factor of 2-3. Chicks were also fed diets deficient in calcium or phosphorus, a situation known to result in the stimulation of the synthesis of calbindin-D_28k and an enhancement of the efficiency of Ca²⁺ absorption. Adaptation of the chicks to these deficient diets was verified by an increase in intestinal levels of calbindin-D_28k, and is now shown to increase the Ca²⁺ pump epitope. From these immunological studies, it seems apparent that dietary variables that enhance intestinal Ca²⁺ absorption also increase the amount of the intestinal basolateral Ca²⁺ pump.