NEUROTENSIN INCREASES INTESTINAL ADAPTATION AND REDUCES ENTEROGLUCAGON-LIKE IMMUNOREACTIVITY AFTER LARGE-BOWEL RESECTION IN RATS

Objetive: To assess the effects of giving neurotensin on intestinal ad aptation after colectomy and their relation to enteroglucagon-like imm unoreactivity. Design: Laboratory experiment. Setting: Teaching hospit al, Spain. Material: 55 Male Wistar rats. Interventions: All animals w ere anaesthetised before undergoing laparotomy; 24 animals had 75% of their colon resected. Half of the animals (12 in each group) were trea ted with neurotensin (600 mu g/kg body wt/day) for 14 days. Main outco me measures: Differences in the number of mitoses and in nuclear antig en staining of proliferating cells in the intestinal mucosal crypts; p lasma enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity. Results: After colon resec tion, the proliferative status, number of mitoses (p < 0.01), and nucl ear antigen staining of proliferating cells (p < 0.001) increased sign ificantly in the jejunum of animals treated with neurotensin (p < 0.05 ). Less pronounced effects were observed in colon and ileum. Plasma en teroglucagon-like immunoreactivity levels fell significantly in all an imals given neurotensin (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Neurotensin increases the adaptive intestinal process after colon resection and reduces pla sma enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity in rats.