Transepithelial leak in Barrett's esophagus patients: the role of proton pump inhibitors.

Aim: To determine if the observed paracellular sucrose leak in Barrett's esophagus patients is due to their proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use.

Methods: The in vivo sucrose permeability test was administered to healthy controls, to Barrett's patients and to non-Barrett's patients on continuous PPI therapy. Degree of leak was tested for correlation with presence of Barrett's, use of PPIs, and length of Barrett's segment and duration of PPI use.

Epithelial tight junctional changes in colorectal cancer tissues.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the western world. Early screening and detection could be highly preventative and therefore reduce mortality. Tight junctions (TJ) are well known for their function in controlling paracellular traffic of ions and molecules.

Absence of Na+/sugar cotransport activity in Barrett's metaplasia.

Aim: To evaluate the presence of Na+-dependent, active, sugar transport in Barrett's epithelia as an intestinal biomarker, based on the well-documented, morphological intestinal phenotype of Barrett's esophagus (BE).

Methods: We examined uptake of the nonmeta-bolizable glucose analogue, alpha-methyl-D-glucoside (AMG), a substrate for the entire sodium glucose cotransporter (SGLT) family of transport proteins. During upper endoscopy, patients with BE or with uncomplicated gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) allowed for duodenal, gastric fundic, and esophageal mucosal biopsies to be taken.