S. Candelas et al., COMPARATIVE EFFECT OF GROWTH-HORMONE AND PLEROCERCOID GROWTH-FACTOR IN THE INTESTINAL RESECTION IN RAT, Revista espanola de enfermedades digestivas, 90(9), 1998, pp. 632-638
OBJECTIVE: after massive bowel resection, absorption depends on how fa
st the mucosal adaptation takes place. This work aims at assesing the
trophic effect of growth hormone (GH) and its analogue, the plerocerco
id growth factor (PGF), on the intestinal mucosa after 90% small bowel
resection. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: 24 male Wistar rats were divided into
four groups of 6: Control (laparotomy), 90% small bowel resection (RI
D), resection and treatment with GH during 14 days (RID + GH) and rese
ction and PGF treatment (RID + PGF). Intestinal mucosal adaptation was
assessed by measuring mucosal weight and height, and evaluating the r
egenerative activity by measuring proliferation cell nuclear antigen (
PCNA) labelling index. RESULTS: bowel resection itself caused a signif
icant increment of jejunal and ileal mucosal height in comparison with
the control group. GH and PGF did not change this increase. Jejunal a
nd ileal proliferation indexes were significantly higher than those in
controls and they were significantly higher in both RID + GH and RID
+ PGF groups. CONCLUSIONS: GH and PGF cause a proliferative effect on
the intestinal mucosa, even in hyperproliferative states such as the s
mall bowel resection. This finding might have a clinic application.