Neurotensin increases intestinal adaptation and reduces enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity after large bowel resection in rats

To assess the effects of giving neurotensin on intestinal adaptation after colectomy and their relation to enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity.Laboratory experiment.Teaching hospital, Spain.55 Male Wistar rats.All animals were anaesthetised before undergoing laparotomy; 24 animals had 75% of their colon resected. Half of the animals (12 in each group) were treated with neurotensin (600 micrograms/kg body wt/day) for 14 days.Differences in the number of mitoses and in nuclear antigen staining of proliferating cells in the intestinal mucosal crypts; plasma enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity.After colon resection, the proliferative status, number of mitoses (p0.01), and nuclear antigen staining of proliferating cells (p0.001) increased significantly in the jejunum of animals treated with neurotensin (p0.05). Less pronounced effects were observed in colon and ileum. Plasma enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity levels fell significantly in all animals given neurotensin (p0.05).Neurotensin increases the adaptive intestinal process after colon resection and reduces plasma enteroglucagon-like immunoreactivity in rats.