Dietary Long-Chain PUFA Enhance Acute Repair of Ischemia-Injured Intestine of Suckling Pigs

Infant formula companies have been fortifying formulas with long-chain PUFA for 10 y. Long-chain PUFA are precursors of prostanoids, which stimulate recovery of intestinal barrier function. Supplementation of milk with PUFA increases the content of arachidonic acid (ARA) in enterocyte membranes; however, the effect of this enrichment on intestinal repair is not known. The objective of these experiments was to investigate the effect of supplemental ARA on intestinal barrier repair in ischemia-injured porcine ileum. One-day-old pigs (n = 24) were fed a milk-based formula for 10 d. Diets contained no PUFA (0% ARA), 0.5% ARA, 5% ARA, or 5% EPA of total fatty acids. Following dietary enrichment, ilea were subjected to in vivo ischemic injury by clamping the local mesenteric blood supply for 45 min. Following the ischemic period, control (nonischemic) and ischemic loops were mounted on Ussing chambers. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) was measured over a 240-min recovery period. Ischemia-injured ileum from piglets fed 5% ARA (61.0 ± 14%) exhibited enhanced recovery compared with 0% ARA (16 ± 14) and 0.5% ARA (22.1 ± 14)-fed pigs. Additionally, ischemia-injured ileum from 5% EPA (51.3 ± 14)-fed pigs had enhanced recovery compared with 0% ARA-fed pigs (P < 0.05). The enhanced TER recovery response observed with ischemia-injured 5% ARA supplementation was supported by a significant reduction in mucosal-to-serosal flux of(3)H-mannitol and(14)C-inulin compared with all other ischemia-injured dietary groups (P < 0.05). A histological evaluation of ischemic ilea from piglets fed the 5% ARA showed reduced histological lesions after ischemia compared with the other dietary groups (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that feeding elevated levels of long-chain PUFA enhances acute recovery of ischemia-injured porcine ileum.