Kd. Crissinger et Dl. Burney, INTESTINAL OXYGENATION AND MUCOSAL PERMEABILITY WITH LUMINAL MOTHERS MILK IN DEVELOPING PIGLETS, Pediatric research, 40(2), 1996, pp. 269-275
We have previously observed a developmental difference in mucosal perm
eability (i.e. the younger the animal, the greater the increase in per
meability) after exposure to luminal nutrients derived from cow's milk
-based infant formulas. There has been tremendous speculation and some
clinical evidence that mother's milk may be protective against mucosa
l injury in developing intestine. In this study, we hypothesized that
instillation of sow's milk into the intestinal lumen of developing pig
lets would cause no differences in either intestinal metabolic demand
(oxygen uptake) or mucosal permeability among age groups. Intestinal b
lood how (total and fractionated), arteriovenous oxygen content differ
ence, venous pressure, and capillary pressure were measured, and vascu
lar resistance and oxygen uptake were calculated, after 30 min of intr
aluminal instillation of predigested and solubilized sow's milk in la-
old, 3-d-old, 2-wk-old, and 1-mo-old piglet jejunoileum. In a separate
group of animals, plasma-to-lumen clearance of chromium-51 EDTA was e
valuated during luminal perfusion with digested and solubilized sow's
milk in 1-d-old, 3-d-old, and I-mo-old piglet jejunoileum. Intestinal
oxygen uptake was similar among age groups of developing piglets, but
EDTA clearance was significantly higher for intestinal segments perfus
ed with sow's milk in 1-d-old, compared with older, animals. Thus, lum
inal perfusion with predigested and bile acid-solubilized sow's milk i
n 1-d-old piglet jejunoileum, compared with perfusion in older piglets
, causes increased mucosal permeability in 1-d-old intestine, but this
increased permeability is not due to increased intestinal oxygen upta
ke (i.e. increased metabolic demand).