Dietary-induced increase in lactase activity and in immunoreactive lactase in adult rat jejunum.

Adult rats that had been fed on a low-starch high-fat diet for 7 days were force-fed with either the same diet or isoenergetic diets containing 40% of energy as either sucrose or lactose. Within 12h, the increase in jejunal lactase activity in sucrose- and lactose-fed rats was accompanied by a corresponding increase in immunoreactive lactase protein.