Association of Intestinal Peptide Transport with a Protein Related to the Cadherin Superfamily

The first step in oral absorption of many medically important peptide-based drugs is mediated by an intestinal proton-dependent peptide transporter. This transporter facilitates the oral absorption of β-lactam antibiotics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors from the intestine into enterocytes lining the luminal wall. A monoclonal antibody that blocked uptake of cephalexin was used to identify and clone a gene that encodes an approximately 92-kilodalton membrane protein that was associated with the acquisition of peptide transport activity by transport-deficient cells. The amino acid sequence deduced from the complementary DNA sequence of the cloned gene indicated that this transport-associated protein shares several conserved structural elements with the cadherin superfamily of calcium-dependent, cell-cell adhesion proteins.