EFFECTS OF INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH-FACTOR-I ON ENDOTOXIN TRANSLOCATION INBURNED RATS RECEIVING TOTAL PARENTERAL-NUTRITION

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on the translocation of endotoxin from the gu t of burned rats. Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats (7-wk-old) wer e subjected to 20% full-thickness scald bums and were divided into two groups. One group received 4 mg kg(-1) d(-1) of IGF-1 (IGF-1 group, n = 14), and the other received saline (control group, a = 13). All rat s were fed exclusively by total parenteral nutrition (TPN). On the sec ond postburn day, rats were killed. The amount of endotoxin in the liv er and spleen were measured. RNA from the terminal ileum was extracted , and Northern blot analyses of alpha-tubulin, beta-actin, cell divisi on cycle-2 (cdc2), and immunoglobulin-h (IgA) were performed. Nitrogen balance was improved (P < 0.001), and the wet weight of intestine and its mucosa were increased significantly in the burned rats that recei ved IGF-1. Gene expression of alpha-tubulin and beta-actin were not ch anged. Cdc2 was elevated (P < 0.05), but IgA was decreased (P < 0.05) in the IGF-1 group. Levels of endotoxin in the liver and spleen were s ignificantly reduced (P < 0.05) by the administration of IGF-1. A nega tive correlation between the levels of endotoxin in the liver and the weight of the intestinal mucosa was observed. In conclusion, IGF-I imp roved nitrogen balance, promoted the proliferation of intestinal mucos a and reduced the translocation of endotoxin. (C) Elsevier Science Inc , 1997.