Intestinal glutamine metabolism after massive small bowel resection.

Gut glutamine utilization after massive small bowel resection was studied to gain further insight into the alterations and adaptations in intestinal glutamine metabolism that occur during the development of post-resectional hyperplasia. After resection of the middle 60% of the small intestine in the rat, gut glutamine metabolism was studied immediately and 1, 2, and 3 weeks later. Whole gut glutamine extraction was 22% in sham controls and it acutely declined to 12% (p less than 0.01) after bowel resection. Extraction increased to 31% 1 week later (p less than 0.05) and then returned to normal by week 2. Gut ammonia release decreased after massive small bowel resection, whereas intestinal alanine release increased. The increase in gut glutamine extraction at 1 week occurred at a time when jejunal and ileal DNA and protein content were markedly increased (p less than 0.01). Intestinal glutaminase content declined initially and then increased by the third week after bowel resection (p less than 0.01). With time, increases in gut cellularity and glutaminase content are associated with gut glutamine utilization in the shortened small bowel that is equal to that of the intact unresected intestine.