Oral glutamine prevents gut mucosal injury and improves mucosal recovery following lipopolysaccharide endotoxemia in a rat.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of oral glutamine in preventing mucosal damage caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxemia in a rat.


METHODS
Male Sprague Dawley rats, weighing 250 to 280 g, were divided into three experimental groups: CONTR rats (Group A), LPS rats (Group B) were treated with lipopolysaccharide given I.P. at dose 10 mg/kg every 24 h (two injections), and LPS-GLN rats (Group C) were treated with oral glutamine given in drinking water (2%) 72 h before and following injection of LPS. Intestinal structural changes, enterocyte proliferation, and enterocyte apoptosis were determined 24 h after last LPS injection.


RESULTS
LPS rats demonstrated a significant decrease in bowel and mucosal weight in jejunum and ileum, mucosal DNA and protein in jejunum and ileum, and villus height and crypt depth in jejunum and ileum compared with sham animals. LPS rats also had a significantly greater Park injury score in jejunum and ileum, a lower cell proliferation index in jejunum and ileum, and higher apoptotic index in jejunum and ileum compared with control rats. LPS-GLN animals showed a significant increase in bowel weight in jejunum, mucosal weight in jejunum and ileum, mucosal DNA in jejunum and ileum, villus height in jejunum and ileum, and cell proliferation index compared with LPS animals. The Park injury score was significantly lower in LPS-GLN rats compared with LPS animals.


CONCLUSIONS
Oral glutamine supplementation prevents mucosal injury and improves intestinal recovery after LPS endotoxemia in a rat.
Sukhotnik
Igor
I
Department of Pediatric Surgery, B'nai Zion Medical Center, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. igor-dr@internet-zahav.net
Agam
Modi
M
Shamir
Raanan
R
Shehadeh
Naim
N
Lurie
Michael
M
Coran
Arnold G
AG
Shiloni
Eitan
E
Mogilner
Jorge
J
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D019446:Endotoxemia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D020895:Enterocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D005973:Glutamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018805:Sepsis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology
D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D005973:Glutamine