Glutamine Correction of Morphofunctional Disorders of the Small Bowel and Liver in the Posttraumatic Period of Experimental Cardiac Contusion (An Experimental Study)

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the effect of glutamine on functional and morphological changes in the liver and small bowel in the posttraumatic period of cardiac contusion.

Material and methods. An experimental model of isolated cardiac contusion was used to investigate the activity of amylase from all small intestinal segments and that of alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), and cholinesterase (CE) in the rat serum over time during the posttraumatic period without correction, as well as during the enteral use of glutamine. Light microscopy (hematoxylin and eosin staining) was employed to evaluate the effect of glutamine on morphological changes in the small bowel (proximal, middle, and distal segments) and liver of experimental animals in the posttraumatic period of cardiac contusion.

Results. The injured animals receiving glutamine versus those without correction showed a decrease in the activity of some desorbed γ-amylase fractions, ALAT, and γ-GT and an increase in the activity of CE in different posttraumatic periods of cardiac contusion. The small intestinal morphological pattern was characterized by the absence of signs of stasis, marginal neutrophil standing, and undamaged intramural nerve ganglia. The liver specimens from the animals receiving glutamine exhibited reduced necrotic area sizes and the absence of protein precipitates in the vessels and fatty dystrophy.

Conclusion. Small intestinal and liver functional and morphological improvements due to the use of glutamine in experimental cardiac contusion suggest that the amino acid is involved in the metabolism of hepatocytes and enterocytes and give grounds to consider it to be a protector of extrathoracic organs in blunt cardiac injury.