Objectives: We investigated the effect of nucleosides (NSs) and nucleotides (NTs) on the intestine and intestinal graft in a model of syngenic small bowel transplantation, with the fetal rat intestine as a graft.
Methods: Two-centimeter jejunal segments from Lewis rats at 19 d of gestation were transplanted into the abdominal walls of 5-wk-old Lewis rats by using a non-vascular anastomotic technique. After transplantation, the rats were assigned to one of two groups: group 1 did not receive NS or NT and group 2 was supplemented with NS and NT. The grafts and graft recipients were examined morphologically 14 d after transplantation according to conventional histologic and immunohistochemical studies of neurons and smooth muscles.
Results: Group 1 gained little body weight, even though both groups received similar amounts of food. The grafts in group 1 showed poor development in length, diameter, and wet weight. They also showed poor villi development, abnormalities in nerve distribution, and degeneration of muscle layer structure on histologic and immunohistochemical studies.
Conclusions: We found that NS and NT are essential nutrients for intestinal growth and maintenance of structures in fetal small bowel transplantation.