L. Gianotti et al., ORAL GLUTAMINE DECREASES BACTERIAL TRANSLOCATION AND IMPROVES SURVIVAL IN EXPERIMENTAL GUT-ORIGIN SEPSIS, JPEN. Journal of parenteral and enteral nutrition, 19(1), 1995, pp. 69-74
Background: Glutamine has been shown to be an important dietary compon
ent for the maintenance of gut metabolism. The purpose of this study w
as to assess the potential benefit of glutamine-enriched diets on expe
rimental gut-derived sepsis. Methods: BALB/c mice were fed either 2% g
lutamine-supplemented or 1% glycine-supplemented (near-isonitsogenous
control) AIN-76A diets. Control mice received either nonsupplemented A
IN-76A or regular Purina Rodent Laboratory Mouse Chow 5001 diets. Afte
r 10 days of feeding, the mice were transfused with allogeneic blood (
from C3H/HeJ mice), and the feeding protocols were continued for an ad
ditional 5 days. The mice then underwent gavage with 10(10) Escherichi
a coli labeled with either indium-111 oxine or [C-14]glucose followed
immediately by a 20% burn injury. Some mice were observed 10 days post
burn for survival rates. Others were killed 4 hours after burn, and th
e mesenteric lymph nodes, liver, and spleen were harvested to determin
e radionuclide and bacterial colony counts. The percentages of viable
translocated E coli were also calculated. Results: Mice fed glutamine-
enriched diets had a lower degree of translocation (as measured by bot
h radionuclide and bacterial counts) to the tissues than did the other
groups and had an improvement in the ability to kill translocated E c
oli (as measured by the percentage of viable bacteria). Survival was s
ignificantly higher in the group fed 2% glutamine (81%) compared with
the groups fed 1% glycine (36%), AIN-76A (35%), and Purina Rodent Labo
ratory Mouse Chow 5001 (36%) diets (p < .004). Conclusions: Glutamine-
supplemented enteral diets may exert important benefits in preventing
gut-origin sepsis after trauma.