ORAL ORNITHINE A-KETOGLUTARATE ACCELERATES HEALING OF THE SMALL-INTESTINE AND REDUCES BACTERIAL TRANSLOCATION AFTER ABDOMINAL RADIATION

The effect of dietary ornithine a-ketoglutarate (OKG) on intestinal mu cosal integrity and bacterial translocation was studied in rats follow ing administration of a single dose of abdominal radiation (1100 cGy). Following the radiation injury the rats were randomized to receive a nutritionally incomplete diet which contained only water and OKG or a control diet with water and the non-essential amino-acid glycine. Four days after radiation, rats were anaesthetized and a laparotomy was pe rformed. Cultures from mesenteric lymph nodes were taken and two tissu e samples from the terminal ileum were also taken for light microscopy , protein and DNA determination. We examined the following parameters: number of villi per cm (V/cm), villus height (Vh), number of mitoses per crypt (M/c) and we measured the mucosal protein and DNA content. N ine of 16 rats who received the OKG-free diet had positive cultures bu t only 3 of 18 rats who received the OKG-enriched diet (P = 0.002). Th e group on the OKG-enriched diet had a better intestinal mucosal archi tecture than the group on the OKG-free diet and the studied parameters of the gut mucosa were significantly better: (V/cm: 130 +/- 8.1 vs 99 +/- 7.9, P = 0.001. Vh(mm): 0.40 +/- 0.03 vs 0.24 +/- 0.05, P = 0.002 . M/c: 1.71 +/- 0.03 vs 0.34 +/- 0.2, P= 0.001, Protein (mg/cm): 2.300 +/- 0.033 vs 1.207 +/- 0.014, P = 0.002. DNA (mu g/cm): 203 +/- 6.41 vs 130 +/- 4.94, P = 0.001. We conclude that OKG-enriched diet prevent s the deleterious effects of radiation on intestinal mucosal morpholog y and integrity, abolishing thus, the increased bacterial translocatio n observed after abdominal radiation.