L- Glutamine supplementation optimizes the repair of the colonic mucosa in rats subjected to abdominal irradiation
2007
Diestel, C.F. | Marques, R.G. | Lopes-Paulo, F. | Paiva, D.D. | Horst, N.L. | Caetano, C.E.R. | Portela, M.C.
Radiotherapy plays an important role in cancer treatment but may be associated with several gastrointestinal complications. The present study investigated the role of l-glutamine supplementation in the repair of the colonic mucosa of rats subjected to abdominal irradiation (AI). Sixty adult male Wistar rats were divided into 6 study groups: healthy--animals not subjected to abdominal radiation; control--irradiated rats without amino acid supplementation; Gly-Gly--irradiated rats with glycine supplementation throughout the study; Gln-Gln--irradiated rats with l-glutamine supplementation throughout the study; Gly-Gln--irradiated rats with glycine supplementation 7 days before irradiation and with l-glutamine supplementation 7 days after irradiation; and Gln-Gly--irradiated rats with l-glutamine supplementation 7 days before irradiation and with glycine supplementation 7 days after irradiation. Animals belonging to the control, Gly-Gly, Gln-Gln, Gly-Gln, and Gln-Gly groups were subjected to AI on the eighth day of experimentation. All animals underwent laparotomy on the 15th day for resection of a circumferential colonic segment for stereological analysis. Partial volume of the epithelium and epithelial surface of groups Gln-Gln and Gly-Gln were similar to those of healthy animals but significantly increased compared with control animals (P < .05 for both groups regarding partial epithelium volume; P < .001 and P < .05, respectively, regarding epithelial surface). The present findings suggest that dietary supplementation with l-glutamine before and after AI or only after irradiation is beneficial for the repair of the colonic mucosa of rats, optimizing its recovery.
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