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Age‐related changes and inheritance of lactate transport activity in red blood cells
Author(s) -
VÄIHKÖNEN L. K.,
OJALA M.,
PÖSÖ A.R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2002.tb05485.x
Subject(s) - red blood cell , horse , biology , blood lactate , endocrinology , medicine , locus (genetics) , allele , zoology , biochemistry , blood pressure , heart rate , gene , paleontology
Summary In red blood cell membranes, the activity of the main lactate carrier, H + ‐monocarboxylate co‐transporter (MCT), varies interindividually and its distribution is bimodal. To show the repeatability of MCT activity, 2 to 5 blood samples were taken, at an interval of approximately 1 year, from 51 Standardbred horses, age 2 weeks‐8 years, for a total of 128 observations. The horses could be divided into low (LT) and high (HT) lactate transport activity groups. Age significantly affected (P<0.05) MCT activity such that activity was highest in foals, reached a nadir at 2–3 years, and tended to increase again thereafter. Interindividual variation was not sufficiently high to allow a horse to switch from the LT‐group to the HT‐group, or vice versa. When MCT activity from 4 sires, 15 dams and their 52 offspring was analysed, the data showed that MCT activity is heritable and supported the hypothesis that low MCT activity was caused by a recessive allele in a single autosomal locus. Because MCT activity affects RBC lactate concentrations, the phenomenon may be physiologically significant.