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Long-term intermittent glutamine supplementation repairs intestinal damage (structure and functional mass) with advanced age: Assessment with plasma citrulline in a rodent model

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objective

Glutamine is the preferred fuel for the rat small intestine and promotes the growth of intestinal mucosa, especially in the event of gut injury. Quantitatively, glutamine is one important precursor for intestinal citrulline release. The aim of this study was to determine whether the effect of glutamine on the increase in intestinal villus height is correlated with an increase in both gut mass and citrulline plasma level in very old rats.

Methods

We intermittently supplemented very old (27-mo) female rats with oral glutamine (20% of diet protein). Intestinal histomorphometric analysis of the small bowel was performed. Amino acids, in particular citrulline, were measured in the plasma, liver and jejunum. Markers of renal (creatinine, urea) and liver (alanine aminotransferase [ALT]) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) functions were measured to evaluate renal and liver functions in relation to aging and to glutamine supplementation. Liver glutathione was also determined to evaluate cellular redox state.

Results

Glutamine supplementation maintains the body weight of very old rats, not by limiting sarcopenia but rather by increasing the organ mass of the splanchnic area. Total intestine mass was significantly higher in glutamine-supplemented rats than in controls (15%). Measurement of villus height and crypt depth demonstrated that the difference between villus and crypt was significantly improved in glutamine pre-treated rats compared to controls (∼ 11%). Plasma citrulline also increased by 15% in glutamine-supplemented rats compared to controls.

Conclusion

Citrulline appears as a biomarker of enterocyte mass in villous atrophy associated with advanced age. Non-invasive measurement of this metabolite may be useful in following the state of the gastrointestinal tract in very old people, whose numbers are increasing worldwide and the care of whom is a major public health issue. The gut may contribute to the malnutrition caused by malabsorption frequently observed in the elderly.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Service d’Anatomie Pathologique, Hôpital Estaing, 63003, Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1, France

    A. M. Beaufrere

  2. Laboratoire de Biologie de la Nutrition, EA 4466, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris Descartes and Service de Biochimie inter-hospitalier Cochin-Hôtel-Dieu, APHP, 75014, Paris, France

    N. Neveux & L. Cynober

  3. INRA, UMR 1019, UNH, CRNH Auvergne, 63009, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    P. Patureau Mirand, C. Buffiere & Dominique Meynial-Denis

  4. CHU Gabriel Montpied, Biochimie Médicale et Biologie Moléculaire, Centre de Biologie, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    G. Marceau & V. Sapin

Authors
  1. A. M. Beaufrere
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  2. N. Neveux
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  3. P. Patureau Mirand
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  4. C. Buffiere
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  5. G. Marceau
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  6. V. Sapin
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  7. L. Cynober
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  8. Dominique Meynial-Denis
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Correspondence to Dominique Meynial-Denis.

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Beaufrere, A.M., Neveux, N., Patureau Mirand, P. et al. Long-term intermittent glutamine supplementation repairs intestinal damage (structure and functional mass) with advanced age: Assessment with plasma citrulline in a rodent model. J Nutr Health Aging 18, 814–819 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-014-0554-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-014-0554-9

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