title: Morphological and functional alterations of the intestine of rats with iron-deficiency anemia.
abstract: The present study was designed to assess the intestinal absorption of D-xylose and jejunal morphometry in rats with iron-deficiency anemia. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group (diet containing 50 mg Fe/kg, N = 12) and an anemic group (diet containing <5 mg Fe/kg, N = 12). The animals were housed in individual metabolic cages and deionized water and diet were provided ad libitum for 6 weeks. Hemoglobin and hematocrit were determined at 0, 2, 4, and 6 weeks. At the end of the study the rats were submitted to a D-xylose absorption test (50 mg/100 g body weight) and sacrificed and a jejunal specimen was obtained for morphometric study. At the end of the study the hemoglobin and hematocrit of the anemic rats (8.7 +/- 0.9 g/dl and 34.1 +/- 2.9%, respectively) were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those of the controls (13.9 +/- 1.4 g/dl and 47.1 +/- 1.5%, respectively). There was no statistical difference in D-xylose absorption between the anemic (46.5 +/- 7.4%) and control (43.4 +/- 9.0%) groups. The anemic animals presented statistically greater villus height (445.3 +/- 36.8 microm), mucosal thickness (614.3 +/- 56.3 microm) and epithelial surface (5063.0 +/- 658.6 microm) than control (371.8 +/- 34.3, 526.7 +/- 62.3 and 4401.2 +/- 704.4 microm, respectively; P < 0.05). The increase in jejunum villus height, mucosal thickness and epithelial surface in rats with iron-deficiency anemia suggests a compensatory intestinal mechanism to increase intestinal iron absorption.
authors.affiliation: Disciplina de Gastroenterologia Pediátrica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: M L C
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wayhs
authors.forename: F S R
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Patrício
authors.forename: O M S
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Amancio
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Pedroso
authors.forename: U Fagundes
authors.initials: UF
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Morais
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D007583:Jejunum / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014994:Xylose / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D014994:Xylose; D007501:Iron