J. Deoca et al., EFFECT OF ORAL SUPPLEMENTATION OF ORNITHINE-ALPHA-KETOGLUTARATE ON THE INTESTINAL BARRIER AFTER ORTHOTOPIC SMALL-BOWEL TRANSPLANTATION, Transplantation, 63(5), 1997, pp. 636-639
The aim of this study was to analyze the possible protective effects o
f a glutamine and arginine precursor (ornithine-alpha-ketoglutarate [O
KG]) on the mucosa of a transplanted intestine when administered with
either a defined formula oral diet (DFD) or a standard chow. Isogenic
male Lewis rats (250 g) were submitted to a laparotomy (groups 1 and 2
) or to an orthotopic small bowel transplantation (SBT; groups 3-6). G
roups 1, 3, and 5 received a DFD 14 days after surgery. Groups 2, 4, a
nd 6 received standard chow. In addition, groups 5 and 6 received a da
ily oral supplementation of 1.4 g/kg of OKG. Weight changes and food i
ntake were recorded daily. At the end of the study, bacterial transloc
ation (BT) was measured in mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.
The protein/DNA index was also determined in intestinal mucosa, SBT in
duced BT in all transplanted groups, especially in those fed DFD. Addi
tion of OKG (groups 5 and 6) significantly reduced BT in comparison wi
th groups 3 and 4 and improved the protein/DNA index as well as weight
gain. It is concluded that OKG supplementation protects the intestina
l barrier after SBT, and that this effect is more marked when it is ad
ded to a standard chow.