NO DIFFERENCES IN MUCOSAL ADAPTIVE GROWTH ONE WEEK AFTER INTESTINAL RESECTION IN RATS GIVEN ENTERAL GLUTAMINE SUPPLEMENTATION OR DEPRIVED OF GLUTAMINE

Objective: To evaluate the effects of intraluminal glutamine on the ad aptation of intestinal mucosa after resection compared with transsecti on and un-operated on control animals. Design: Open, controlled, exper imental study. Setting: University hospital, Sweden. Subjects: 123 Spr ague-Dawley rats. Intervention: Daily isonitrogenous oral diet was giv en either free of glutamine or supplemented with 4% glutamine for 2 or 7 days to rats subjected to intestinal resection, transection or no o peration. Main outcome measures: Body weight and protein content, DNA content, and thymidine incorporation in jejunal and ileal mucosa. Resu lts. Resection resulted in a significant growth stimulation evaluated by weight/body weight, protein, and DNA content (p < 0.05-0.001). Glut amine supplementation did not significantly influence this growth resp onse. Thymidine incorporation in jejunum was stimulated by glutamine o n day 3 (p < 0.05-0.001). Conclusion: The glutamine fortified diet had no growth stimulating effects compared with a glutamine free diet one week after 60% intestinal resection. An early increase in thymidine i ncorporation indicated that glutamine had a transient proliferative ef fect.