Intestinal caveolin-1 is important for dietary fatty acid absorption

• Caveolin-1 knockout mouse apical brush border membranes do not take up oleate.
• Absorbed oleate is in detergent resistant fractions in intestinal apical brush borders.
• 91% of absorbed oleate in intestinal cytosol is in caveolin-1 containing vesicles.
• No cytosolic oleate containing vesicles are found in caveolin-1 knockout cytosol.
• Caveolin-1 knockout mice have a reduced weight gain and more stool fat.

How dietary fatty acids are absorbed into the enterocyte and transported to the ER is not established. We tested the possibility that caveolin-1 containing lipid rafts and endocytic vesicles were involved. Apical brush border membranes took up 15% of albumin bound 3H-oleate whereas brush border membranes from caveolin-1 KO mice took up only 1%. In brush border membranes, the 3H-oleate was in the detergent resistant fraction of an OptiPrep gradient. On OptiPrep gradients of intestinal cytosol, we also found the 3H-oleate in the detergent resistant fraction, separate from OptiPrep gradients spiked with 3H-oleate or 3H-triacylglycerol. Caveolin-1 immuno-depletion of cytosol removed 91% of absorbed 3H-oleate whereas immuno-depletion using IgG, or anti-caveolin-2 or -3 or anti-clathrin antibodies removed 20%. Electron microscopy showed the presence of caveolin-1 containing vesicles in WT mouse cytosol that were 4 fold increased by feeding intestinal sacs 1 mM oleate. No vesicles were seen in caveolin-1 KO mouse cytosol. Caveolin-1 KO mice gained less weight on a 23% fat diet and had increased fat in their stool compared to WT mice. We conclude that dietary fatty acids are absorbed by caveolae in enterocyte brush border membranes, are endocytosed, and transported in cytosol in caveolin-1 containing endocytic vesicles.