Effect of glutamine-enriched total parenteral nutrition on small intestinal gut-associated lymphoid tissue and upper respiratory tract immunity

• Published in: Surgery Vol. 121; no. 5; pp. 542 - 549
• Main Authors: Li, Jian, Kudsk, Kenneth A, Janu, Peter, Renegar, Kathryn B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.05.1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Emergency and intensive care: metabolism and nutrition disorders. Enteral and parenteral nutrition; Glutamine - administration & dosage; Glutamine - pharmacology; Immunoglobulin A - analysis; Intensive care medicine; Lymphocyte Count; Medical sciences; Mice; Nasal Lavage Fluid - virology; Nasal Mucosa - drug effects; Nasal Mucosa - immunology; Parenteral Nutrition, Total; Peyer's Patches - drug effects; Peyer's Patches - immunology; Virus Shedding; IgA; Concentration factor; Nutrition; Digestive system; Rodentia; Gut; Lymphoid tissue; Experimental study; Parenteral administration; Feeding; Prevention; Vertebrata; Immunology; Mammalia; Association; Mouse; Animal; Total; Atrophia; Biological effect; Supplementation; Resuscitation; Glutamine
• ISSN: 0039-6060; 1532-7361
• DOI: 10.1016/S0039-6060(97)90109-4

Background. Our prior work shows that total parenteral nutrition (TPN) causes small intestinal gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) atrophy, lowers small intestinal immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels, and impairs secretory IgA-mediated mucosal immunity of the upper respiratory tract. These experiments examine whether an isonitrogenous 2% glutamine-enriched TPN solution prevents these changes. Methods. Institute of Cancer Research mice were randomized to chow (chow), intravenous feeding of a TPN solution (TPN), or glutamine-enriched TPN (glutamine) groups. After mice were fed for 5 days, lymphocytes were isolated from Peyer's patches, the intraepithelial layer, and lamina propria to determine cell yields and phenotypes. Total small intestinal IgA levels were analyzed by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In a second series of experiments, mice underwent intranasal inoculation with H1N1 virus to establish immunity. After 3 weeks mice were randomized to chow, TPN, or glutamine groups. After feeding for 5 days, mice were rechallenged with intranasal virus and killed at 40 hours to determine viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract. Results. Total lymphocyte yield in the Peyer's patches, the intraepithelial layer, and lamina propria, small intestinal IgA levels, and the CD4+ CD8+ ratio in the lamina propria decreased with TPN but remained normal with glutamine. On rechallenge, 87% of the mice in the TPN group shed virus in nasal secretions, whereas only 38% of the glutamine-treated group (p < 0.05 versus TPN) and 7.1% of the chow group (p < 0.002 versus TPN) were virus positive. Conclusions. Isonitrogenous supplementation of TPN with 2% glutamine improves IgA-mediated protection in the upper respiratory tract and normalizes GALT populations.