Vitamin D Improves Intestinal Barrier Function in Cirrhosis Rats by Upregulating Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression

Intestinal barrier dysfunction always accompanies cirrhosis in patients with advanced liver disease and is an important contributor facilitating bacterial translocation (BT), which has been involved in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis and its complications. Several studies have demonstrated the protective effect of Vitamin D on intestinal barrier function. However, severe cholestasis leads to vitamin D depletion. This study was designed to test whether vitamin D therapy improves intestinal dysfunction in cirrhosis. Rats were subcutaneously injected with 50% sterile CCl₄ (a mixture of pure CCl₄ and olive oil, 0.3 mL/100 g) twice a week for 6 weeks. Next, 1,25(OH)₂D₃(0.5 µg/100 g) and the vehicle were administered simultaneously with CCl₄ to compare the extent of intestinal histologic damage, tight junction protein expression, intestinal barrier function, BT, intestinal proliferation, apoptosis, and enterocyte turnover. Intestinal heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression and oxidative stress were also assessed. We found that vitamin D could maintain intestinal epithelial proliferation and turnover, inhibit intestinal epithelial apoptosis, alleviate structural damage, and prevent BT and intestinal barrier dysfunction. These were achieved partly through restoration of HO-1 and inhibition of oxidative stress. Taken together, our results suggest that vitamin D ameliorated intestinal epithelial turnover and improved the integrity and function of intestinal barrier in CCl₄-induced liver cirrhotic rats. HO-1 signaling activation was involved in these above beneficial effects.

Laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of 12 patients with radiogenic small bowel damage / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To summarize the preliminary experience of laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of radiogenic small bowel damage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Clinical data of 12 patients with radiogenic small bowel damage undergoing laparoscopic operation in our department from January 2012 to January 2013 were retrospectively reviewed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Two patients were transferred to laparotomy because of dense adhesion in the entire abdomen and uncertainty of metastatic malignancy, respectively. The laparoscopic surgery was successfully performed in other 10 patients. Three patients received enterostomy or colostomy because of intestinal obstruction or bleeding. Among the other seven patients who underwent intestinal resection and anastomosis, intestinal anastomosis was performed with an small adjunvant incision in the former two cases and performed under laparoscopy in the latter five cases. The post-operative complication included one anastomotic fistula.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Laparoscopic surgery can be safely used in radiogenic small bowel damage patients, which can avoid the delayed incision healing.</p>