title: [Beta-catenin expression in intestinal mucosa of rats with severe abdominal infection].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the expression of beta-catenin in the intestinal mucosa of rats with severe abdominal infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group (n=10, with celiotomy only) and 3 abdominal infection groups (n=10) sacrificed at 12, 24, 48 h after cecal ligation plus puncture for inducing severe abdominal infection, respectively. Immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR were performed to detect beta-catenin expression in the crypt of the small intestine during severe abdominal infection and in normal conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rats with severe abdominal infection showed stronger beta-catenin expression in the crypt of the small intestine than normal rats, and the transcription level of beta-catenin was associated with the stages of severe abdominal infection. RT-PCR showed that beta-catenin mRNA increased rapidly 12 h after the infection (0.74-/+0.10 vs 0.52-/+0.06, P<0.01), reaching the peak level at 24 h (0.90-/+0.09, P<0.01), followed then by gradual decrease but remained still obviously higher than the control level at 24 h (0.80-/+0.09, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Severe abdominal infection may induce beta-catenin expression which might be related with the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells in such condition and play an important role in intestinal mucosa damage and repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. ljf9119@sina.com
authors.forename: Jin-feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Cheng-tang
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051176:beta Catenin