THE EFFECTS OF PROTEOGLYCAN ON GALT IN RATS TREATED WITH TPN

It is well known that total parenteral nutrition (TPN) causes atrophy of the intestinal mucosa, resulting in degeneration and atrophy of the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), This study was conducted to e xamine the suppressive effect of TPN on GALT in rats, Rats that receiv ed TPN alone for 2 weeks, i.e., the TPN group, showed a decreased numb er of Peyer's patches and thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDL), as well as atrophy, Conversely, those treated with TPN in combination with polysa ccharide K (PSK) at a daily dose of 1000 mg/kg for 2 weeks, i.e., the PSK group, showed increases in the number of Peyer's patches and TDL a nd improvement in the TDL subsets compared with the TPN group, Immunoh istological examination of the changes in immunocytes in GALT using mo noclonal antibodies revealed increases in the production of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I and (MHC)-II, helper T cells, and i nterleukin 2 (IL-2). These findings indicate that PSK improves GALT su ppression induced by TPN.