Abstract
Macromolecular transmission from the intestinal lumen into the circulation, and its cessation - intestinal closure, were investigated in young pigs and rats and compared to the capability of the enterocytes to internalize macromolecules. Pre- and post-closure pigs and rats were fed FITC-labelled dextran 70.000 and BSA by stomach tube. The intestinal transmission was assessed as the serum concentration of the markers after 4 or 6 hours, when the uptake of FITC-dextran into the enterocytes was also examined by fluorescence microscopy.
In both preclosure piglets (newborn, unsuckled) and rats (14 days old) high serum concentrations of the markers were correlated with highly fluorescent enterocytes, indicating a high uptake into the intestinal cells. Although the enterocytes in the postclosure pig (36 h old) showed high fluorescence similar to that in the preclosure pig, no marker transmission into blood occurred. In the postclosure rat (30 days old) fluorescence in the enterocytes was lacking and no transmission of markers was found. The results indicate that in the rat, intestinal closure is a consequence of a decline in the macromolecular uptake into the enterocytes, while in the pig, closure seems to be related to a cessation of further passage of internalized material through the cells into blood.
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G, E., B, W., E, T. et al. INTESTINAL UPTAKE AND TRANSMISSION OF FITC-DEXTRAN AND BSA IN THE NEONATAL PIG AND RAT. Pediatr Res 20, 695 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198607000-00060
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198607000-00060