Abstract
Background: Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) is a life-threatening emergency accompanied by inflammation and organ damage. We compared the mechanisms and the effects of arginine, citrulline, and glutamine on inflammation and intestinal damage. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats underwent 60 minutes of superior mesenteric artery occlusion and either 3 (I/R3) or 24 (I/R24) hours of reperfusion and were orally administered vehicle, arginine, citrulline, or glutamine 15 minutes before reperfusion and at 3, 9, and 21 hours of reperfusion. Results: I/R3 rats experienced jejunal damage and apoptosis, and I/R24 rats had liver dysfunction compared with normal rats (one-way ANOVA, P < .05). Arginine and citrulline administrations improved jejunal morphology, and citrulline and glutamine administrations alleviated the loss of jejunal mass in I/R3 rats. I/R3-increased circulating nitrate/nitrite (NOx), tumor necrosis factor–α, and interleukin-6 were significantly decreased by citrulline, glutamine and citrulline, and arginine, glutamine, and citrulline, respectively. These amino acids decreased plasma NOx and interferon-γ in I/R24, decreased jejunal neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) protein in I/R3 rats, and alleviated jejunal apoptosis in I/R3 and I/R24 rats. In addition, the jejunal phosphorylated to total nuclear factor–κB (NF-κB) ratio was decreased by arginine and citrulline in I/R24 rats. Conclusion: Oral administration of arginine, citrulline, and glutamine may alleviate systemic inflammation, jejunal apoptosis, and neuronal NOS in intestinal I/R. Citrulline may further attenuate jejunal damage by preserving jejunal mass, partially via the inactivation of NOS and the NF-κB pathway. In conclusion, oral citrulline may have more benefits than arginine and glutamine in mitigating intestinal ischemia and reperfusion-induced adverse effects.
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