Effect of colchicine on intestinal disaccharidases: correlation with biochemical aspects of cellular renewal

There was a significant depression of the activities of intestinal lactase, invertase, and alkaline phosphatase in rats given drinking water containing 2.5 mg of colchicine per 100 ml. Activities of intestinal maltase, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase were not affected by the drug. Injection of colchicine (1 mg/kg) caused depression of intestinal invertase activity within 8 hr. Investigation of the effect of colchicine on the disaccharides in vitro demonstrated that invertase and maltase were not affected by concentrations up to 125 mg/100 ml. Intestinal lactase was inhibited by concentrations exceeding 5 mg/100 ml. Calculation of the concentration of colchicine present in the intestine, after a single injection, indicated that the in vivo effect of colchicine was not due to simple enzyme inhibition. Histological examination showed an increase in crypt cells but no decrease in the length of the villi. Cellular migration along the villi, as well as activity of uridine kinase in intestinal mucosa, was increased in colchicine-treated rats. It was concluded that colchicine did not depress intestinal invertase, lactase, and alkaline phosphatase by decreasing cellular renewal, but rather it exerted its effect directly on the differentiated cells of the villus.