Intestinal disaccharidases and related brush-border digestive enzymes

Intestinal disaccharidases and related brush-border digestive enzymes are a specialized group of hydrolases anchored to the microvilli of enterocytes in the small intestine. This group primarily includes sucrase-isomaltase (SI), maltase-glucoamylase (MGAM), lactase (LCT), and trehalase (TREH), which catalyze the final step of carbohydrate digestion by hydrolyzing disaccharides and oligosaccharides into monosaccharides like glucose, fructose, and galactose (StatPearls, 2023; UniProt, 2024). These enzymes are essential for nutrient absorption and systemic energy homeostasis. In the context of type 2 diabetes and obesity, they serve as therapeutic targets for alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, which delay glucose absorption to manage postprandial hyperglycemia (PubMed, 2022). Deficiencies in these enzymes, whether congenital or acquired, lead to malabsorption disorders such as lactose intolerance and congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID), resulting in osmotic diarrhea and flatulence (NIH, 2023). Pharmacological management involves either the inhibition of these enzymes to control metabolic disorders or enzyme replacement therapy to restore digestive function in deficient patients.

Other names

Intestinal brush-border enzymesIntestinal glycosidasesAlpha-glucosidasesIntestinal hydrolasesDisaccharidases

Competitive inhibition of alpha-glucosidase enzymes (sucrase, maltase, glucoamylase) to delay carbohydrate digestion and glucose absorption, or exogenous enzyme replacement to restore hydrolytic activity in deficiency states (StatPearls, 2023).