Effect of intestinal resection on phospholipid class distribution and fatty acid composition of mucosal cells in the rat large intestine.

In this study we examined the effect of 50% distal small bowel resection (DSBR) on the lipid composition of rat colonic mucosa, including the fatty acid composition of major phospholipid classes, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), and sphingomyelin (SM). Phospholipid, free cholesterol, triacylglycerols, diacylglycerols, and cholesterol ester levels were not affected by the surgical operation. PE together with PC accounted for more than 60% of total phospholipid, in both groups of animals. The relative percentages of PE, PC, PI, SM, and cardiolipin (CL) remained unaffected by DSBR. However, a decrease in the content of LPC was observed in 50%-resected animals. Different fatty acid composition changes in the colonic phospholipid classes were observed after resection. PC fraction contained the highest amounts of saturated fatty acids, but monounsaturated fatty acids were present in high levels in PI fraction, in both groups of animals. DSBR produces different changes in the levels of linoleic and arachidonic acids. These results suggest that the lipid composition and the fatty acid profile of the different phospholipid fractions change in the adaptive response of colon to intestinal resection.