TROPHIC EFFECT OF GLICENTIN ON INTESTINAL-MUCOSA DURING ADMINISTRATION OF ELEMENTAL DIET IN RATS

This experimental study was designed to elucidate whether glicentin 1- 69 which has been newly synthesized has the trophic effect on the inte stinal mucosa or not. Fourteen male SD rats weighing about 150g were u sed and divided into two groups:8 rats in control group (C-group), and 6 rats in glicentin group (G-group). For seven days, all rats were fe d by elemental diet solution (1kcal/ml, Elental(R), Morishita, Japan) without giving normal chows or ordinary drinking water to produce the mucosal atrophy of small intestine. During this period, these rats rec eived 0.5mL subcutaneous injections of either saline (C-group) or glic entin (10 mu g/body:G-group) every 12 hours. All injections were mixed with 0.5ml of 16% hydrolyzed gelatin. On the eighth day, all rats wer e sacrificed and measured body weight, weight of scraped mucosa and vi llous height of jejunum and ileum and plasma totaI-GLI levels. Body we ight of G-group did not differ significantly from C-group. Jejunal muc osal weight was significantly greater than C-group. Ileal mucosal weig ht of C-group was similar to G-group. The villous heights in the proxi mal and middle intestine of G-group were significantly higher than C-g roup, while there was no significant differences between G-and C-group in distal intestine. The plasma total-GLI levels of G-group were abou t two times higher than C-group. These results suggest that glicentin is trophic for proximal intestinal mucosa.