The role of putative humoral factors, known as phosphatonins, in phosphate homeostasis and the relationship between phosphate handling by the kidney and gastrointestinal tract are incompletely understood. Matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE), one of several candidate phosphatonins, promotes phosphaturia, but whether it also affects intestinal phosphate absorption is unknown. Here, using the in situ intestinal loop technique, we demonstrated that short-term infusion of MEPE inhibits phosphate absorption in the jejunum but not the duodenum. Simultaneous measurement of urinary phosphate excretion suggests that the phosphaturic action of MEPE correlates with a significant reduction in the protein levels of the renal sodium-phosphate co-transporter NaPi-IIa in the proximal convoluted tubules of the outer renal cortex, assessed by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. This short-term inhibitory effect of MEPE on renal and intestinal phosphate handling occurred without any changes in circulating levels of parathyroid hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 , or fibroblast growth factor 23. Taken together, these findings suggest that MEPE is a candidate phosphatonin involved in phosphate homeostasis, acting in both the kidney and the gastrointestinal tract. 19: 231319: -232019: , 200819: . doi: 10.1681 In the past 5 years, our understanding of the different mechanisms maintaining phosphate homeostasis has increased significantly, and recent attention has focused on the novel circulating factors called phosphatonins and their potential role in controlling renal phosphate excretion. These factors were originally identified in mesenchymal tumors from patients with tumor-induced osteomalacia, a disorder associated with renal phosphate wasting. So far they have been identified as fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), FGF-7, secreted frizzled related protein 4 (sFRP-4), and matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE). All of them have been shown to inhibit renal phosphate absorption in vitro and in vivo; however, only FGF-23 and sFRP-4 are considered to play an important role in regulating (by inhibiting) the synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ; for comprehensive reviews, see references [1][2][3][4] ]. In contrast to the kidney, the role that these phosphatonins might have in regulating intestinal phosphate absorption has received limited attention.
J Am Soc NephrolRecently, several groups, including our own, have begun to reevaluate the processes and regulatory mechanisms involved in intestinal phosphate absorption and the relationship of intestinal to renal phosphate handling. 5 Using both in vivo and in vitro techniques, we and others have found clear differences in the regional profile of intestinal phosphate absorption in rats compared with mice. 6,7 Indeed, the axial pattern of phosphate absorption in the rat is more similar to that reported in humans; therefore, the rat is perhaps a more appropriate an-