Phosphatase alcaline intestinale : une veille enzyme avec de nouvelles fonctions dans l'homéostasie intestinale et l'absorption des lipides

The diverse roles of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) have long remained elusive. However, four novel functions have been reported recently. It was shown that IAP participates in the regulations of lipid absorption across enterocyte's apical membrane, and of bicarbonate secretion and extracellular duodenal pH. IAP is responsible for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) detoxification and for controlling LPS-induced inflammation. IAP regulates bacterial translocation across intestinal epithelium. A retrospective analysis of the literature was then conducted for analysing the potential of the diet to modulate IAP. This analysis revealed that many dietary components including fat, protein and carbohydrate are important IAP modulators. In conclusion, IAP plays key roles in the control of intestinal homeostasis and its activity could be increased through the diet, especially in pathological situations (e.g. inflammatory bowel diseases) where the involvement of commensal bacteria is suspected, and when intestinal AP is too low to detoxify enough of bacterial LPS.