Mucosal permeability in the immature rat intestine: effects of ischemia-reperfusion, cold stress, hypoxia, and drugs.

Increased mucosal permeability may represent an important factor in the etiology of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). In the present study we used an immature rat model to assess the permeability effects of a number of stresses commonly seen in infants with NEC. In 10-day-old rats, mucosal permeability to 51Cr EDTA was measured after subjecting the animals to 10-minute ischemia-reperfusion injury, 30 minutes of hypoxia (14% oxygen), cold stress (4 degree C for 4 minutes), and intraperitoneal indomethacin (0.2 or 2.0 mg/kg) or theophylline (40 or 200 mg/kg). When compared with appropriate controls, mucosal permeability was found to be significantly increased by ischemia-reperfusion injury, hypoxia, and high-dose indomethacin, but not by cold, theophylline, or low-dose indomethacin. Renal clearance studies confirmed that elevated blood levels of 51Cr EDTA were due to increased permeability rather than decreased renal excretion of the probe. These studies confirm that mucosal permeability in the immature rat is increased by a variety of insults, and may represent a "common pathway" in the etiology of NEC.