[en] The postprandial intestinal hyperemia was studied in conscious and anesthetized rats using the radioactive microsphere technique. Carbohydrate, protein, lipid, and mixed meals, and the vehicle (Tyrode's solution), were placed in the stomach via a gastrostomy tube. In conscious rats, blood flow increased by 40-80% in the duodenum and jejunum 1 h after either a carbohydrate, lipid, protein, or mixed meal. Tyrode's solution produced a comparable hyperemia. Blood flow in the distal bowel segments (ileum, cecum, and colon) was significantly increased only by Tyrode's solution and the carbohydrate meal. The proximal intestinal hyperemia produced by the mixed meal in conscious animals was significantly attenuated by vagotomy yet unaltered by atropine pretreatment. In contrast to the results obtained from conscious rats, the mixed meal did not significantly alter intestinal blood flow in anesthetized animals. The results of this study indicate that the postprandial intestinal hyperemia is much greater in conscious than anesthetized animals. This difference may result from the higher resting blood flows in the latter group. The hyperemic response in conscious animals may be mediated by the vagus nerve

[en] The H₂ clearance method of measuring blood flow has been successfully applied to the stomach and intestines. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of the H₂ clearance technique to measure pancreatic blood flow. Anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented to measure pancreatic blood flow with the H₂ clearance and microsphere methods. The pancreas was gently exposed via a midline incision and a platinum contact electrode was lightly applied to the tissue surface. Microspheres (15 μm in diameter and labelled with either ⁴⁶Sc or ⁸⁵Sr) were administered into the left ventricle via a cannula in the carotid artery. Estimates of pancreatic blood flow were obtained under control (resting) conditions and during administration of norepinephrine or isoproterenol. A direct linear relationship between H₂ clearance and microsphere measurements of pancreatic blood flow (r = 0.69) was obtained. It is concluded that the H₂ clearance technique maybe a useful method for obtained multiple estimates of pancreatic blood flow

[en] The possibility that villous motility reduces the mucosal unstirred water layer by mechanical stirring was examined. The frequency of contraction of villi was measured by using videomicroscopic techniques while a segment of anesthetized canine jejunum or ileum with its nerve and blood supply intact was maintained in a sealed chamber through which Tyrode solution was perfused. Radioisotopically labeled inulin, H₂O, and butyric and lauric acid were used to measure net and/or unidirectional fluxes from the chamber. The unidirectional absorptive transport of H₂O and butyric acid but not lauric acid by jejunal segments was significantly correlated with flow through the chamber. Plasma volume expansion increased villous motility but decreased the absorption of H₂O and lauric acid. Absorption of butyric acid from the ileum was little different than from the jejunum although the degree of villous motility was less and net water absorption was greater from the ileum. Absorption of butyric acid into dead tissue indicated that passive diffusion into the tissue accounted for between 7 and 25%, depending on flow rate, of the absorption in intact tissue and that nonspecific binding was low. It was concluded that villous motility did not stir the unstirred water layers and was not directly associated with altered transport

[en] We assessed the effect of hypoxia/reoxygenation on 14C-albumin flux across endothelial monolayers. Cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells were grown to confluence on nitrocellulose filters (pore size 12 microns). The endothelialized filters were mounted in Ussing-type chambers which were filled with cell culture medium (M 199). Equimolar amounts (33 nM) of 14C-labeled and unlabeled albumin were added to the hot and cold chambers, respectively. The monolayers were then exposed to successive periods (90 min) of normoxia (pO2 145 mmHg), hypoxia (pO2 20 mmHg), and reoxygenation (pO2 145 mmHg). A gas bubbling system was used to control media pO2 and to ensure adequate mixing. Four aliquots of culture media were taken during each period in order to calculate the 14C-albumin permeability across the endothelialized filter. In some experiments, either the xanthine oxidase inhibitor, oxypurinol (10 microM), or superoxide dismutase (600 U/mL), was added to the media immediately prior to the experiments. As compared to the normoxic control period, albumin permeability was 1.5 times higher during hypoxia (p less than 0.01) and 2.3 times higher during reoxygenation (p less than 0.01). The reoxygenation-induced increase in albumin permeability was prevented by either oxypurinol or superoxide dismutase. These data indicate that xanthine oxidase-derived oxygen radicals contribute to the hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced endothelial cell dysfunction. The altered endothelial barrier function induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation is consistent with the microvascular dysfunction observed following reperfusion of ischemic tissues

[en] The radioactive microsphere technique was used to estimate blood flow to different regions of the esophagus and to adjacent regions of the stomach before and after perfusion of the esophagus with hydrochloric acid (pH 1.5) for 5 min. Under resting conditions total blood flow, as well as blood flow to the mucosal-submucosal layer and the muscular layer, to both sphincters was significantly higher than to the esophageal body. Blood flow to the adjacent regions of the stomach was significantly higher than esophageal blood flow. Acid perfusion resulted in a large increase in total blood flow in both sphincters and the lower esophageal body. Gastric blood flow was not altered by acid perfusion. The esophageal hyperemia resulted primarily from an increase in blood flow to the muscular layer; mucosal-submucosal blood flow was increased only in the lower esophageal sphincter. The present study indicates that short periods (5 min) of gastroesophageal reflux may increase esophageal blood flow

[en] Recent studies have implicated oxygen free radicals in ischemia-reperfusion injury to the gastric mucosa. The aims of the present study were to test the hypothesis that the enzyme xanthine oxidase is the source of the oxygen radicals in the ischemic stomach and determine the importance of the iron-catalyzed Haber-Weiss reaction in generating the cytotoxic oxygen radicals. Gastric mucosal clearance of ⁵¹Cr-labeled red blood cells was measured during a 30-min control period, a 30-min ischemic period (hemorrhage to 25 mmHg arterial pressure), and a 60-80-min reperfusion period (reinfusion of shed blood). In untreated (control) rats, a dramatic rise (100-fold) in the leakage of ⁵¹Cr-labeled red blood cells into the gastric lumen was observed only during the reperfusion period. After the reperfusion period, gastric mucosal damage was further assessed using gross lesion area and histology. Rats were placed on a sodium tungstate diet (to inactivate xanthine oxidase), or treated with either deferoxamine (an iron chelating agent) or superoxide dismutase (a superoxide scavenger). All three interventions substantially reduced ⁵¹Cr-labeled red blood cell clearance and gross lesion area relative to untreated rats. However, tissue injury assessed histologically was similar in both treated and untreated animals. The results of this study support the hypothesis that oxygen free radicals mediate the hemorrhagic shock-induced extravasation of red blood cells. The data also indicate that xanthine oxidase is the source of the oxy-radicals and that the iron-catalyzed Haber-Weiss reaction is largely responsible for hydroxyl radical generation in this model

[en] The microsphere technique is a standard method for measuring blood flow in experimental animals. Sporadic reports have appeared outlining the limitations of this method. In this study the authors have systematically assessed the effect of blood withdrawals for reference sampling, microsphere numbers, and anesthesia on blood flow estimates using radioactive microspheres in dogs. Experiments were performed on 18 conscious and 12 anesthetized dogs. Four blood flow estimates were performed over 120 min using 1 x 10⁶ microspheres each time. The effects of excessive numbers of microspheres pentobarbital sodium anesthesia, and replacement of volume loss for reference samples with dextran 70 were assessed. In both conscious and anesthetized dogs a progressive decrease in gastric mucosal blood flow and cardiac output was observed over 120 min. This was also observed in the pancreas in conscious dogs. The major factor responsible for these changes was the volume loss due to the reference sample withdrawals. Replacement of the withdrawn blood with dextran 70 led to stable blood flows to all organs. The injection of excessive numbers of microspheres did not modify hemodynamics to a greater extent than did the injection of 4 million microspheres. Anesthesia exerted no influence on blood flow other than raising coronary flow. The authors conclude that although blood flow to the gastric mucosa and the pancreas is sensitive to the minor hemodynamic changes associated with the microsphere technique, replacement of volume loss for reference samples ensures stable blood flow to all organs over a 120-min period